A Dragon's True Purpose
by griffindork93
Summary: He's defeated Acnologia, but now he must save mankind from the darkest wizard to ever exist: Zeref. With the help of his guild and the support of his mate, Natsu prepares for his most difficult fight yet, and must put everything on the line if he wants to succeed. Sequel to A Dragon's True Power.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. **

**Here is the sequel to A Dragon's True Power. Credit for the name goes to KingLuxion. Thanks man. I really like that it still has the letters A, D, T, and P.**

**Also, check out the companion story I started; Seven Years of the Dragon.**

* * *

A woman stood in the giant archway that welcomed mages and people needing jobs done alike to her guild. She wore full armor despite the sweltering heat. The summer breeze that carried the scent of the ocean caused her pleated blue skirt to sway and her long red hair to stream behind her.

She inhaled deeply, taking in the salty air. She had been waiting there, silhouetted in the shadow of the massive gate, for a few hours, and she would remain there until he arrived.

It had been seven long years since he had all but vanished, leaving behind only her memories, the message delivered by Mavis Vermillion, and the promise that he would return.

At first, she could not fathom how she would make it seven years without him. The first time she had lost him, she had fallen apart. This time, holding herself together was easier, if only because she knew for certain that he was alive and that he would be coming home. His promise was her lifeline because he never broke a promise to her.

And she had not been idle in that time span. The woman did not spend her waking hours standing immovably at the guild's entrance, pining away. Time had moved on, and so had she.

Fairy Tail's first guild master had warned them of the war building on the horizon, the one in which he was supposed to play an integral role in. The one he had spent these seven years training with his father for. She had spent the time training, too.

She was stronger now than she had ever been. Jellal, of all people, had paid the guild a visit. He was intimately interested in the outcome of the war against Zeref. The wizard had spent more than three-quarters of his life building the Tower of Heaven to resurrect the Black Wizard that had seemingly possessed him.

The guilt he carried with him, for Simon's death and the pain he caused her, was crushing. Jellal thought the only path available to him for repenting his sins was hunting down black wizards like Zeref and exterminating them. He had currently formed his own independent guild, Crime Sorcière, dedicated to driving away the evil in the world caused by Dark Guilds and Zeref, with Meredy and Ultear. Over the years, the three of them had managed to destroy several Dark Guilds.

That day he had come with an offer for her, Gray, and Lucy.

Magic power was the energy which allows mages to employ magic, and it was composed of Eternano. Every mage had a container inside their body that determined the limits of their magic power. In the case that it became empty, Eternano came from the atmosphere and entered the mage's body: after a while, their magic power was returned to normal. However, Jellal spoke of another part of a mages' magic container that wasn't used normally and contained their dormant power, called Second Origin. If the power within the second container was reached, then the mage in question would receive an enormous boost in magic power.

Ultear had offered to unlock their Second Origins by using her Arc of Time magic to evolve their magical containers. All three of them had jumped at the opportunity.

Jellal's guild wasn't the only remarkable change in seven years. Several things had change. The number of wizards was on the rise, and with their increasing numbers came more guilds. Guilds like Sabertooth and Mermaid Heel were increasing in popularity.

Sabertooth was actually causing a lot of problems for Fairy Tail. Sting was what they were calling Third Generation Dragon Slayers, a wizard that had been taught the art of Dragon Slayer magic from a dragon and that had a Dragon Slayer lacrima implanted in his body.

For reason's the blonde haired mage wouldn't explain, he was obsessed with fighting their own dragon slayers and proving himself against him.

Fairy Tail had kept the knowledge of their hero's survival a closely guarded secret, but Sting refused to believe him to be dead. From admiration or stubbornness she didn't know, but the dragon slayer held fast to the belief that Fairy Tail was lying to him and that he would return.

The Magic Council also kept close tabs on her guild. Never Fairy Tail's biggest supporters, the councilmen were up in arms over the abrupt return of the world's most feared dragon and his just as brusque defeat. They still believed her guild to be in league with Zeref, and so had been monitoring them for seven years.

If the council could legally do so, they would have ordered Fairy Tail disbanded. There were three types of magical guilds: legal, dark, and independent. Legal guilds were approved and registered by the magic council, the dark guilds were not approved, and the independent guilds were in the middle, not approved but not treated like criminal organizations either.

But once approved, the magic council couldn't rescind their decision. Not without proof of illegal activity, anyways. Fairy Tail was infamous for their destructive nature, but they had never been involved in anything remotely illegal.

The council's more intense scrutiny didn't bother her guild. They had never been on good terms with the higher ups anyway. She was certain some members of her guild caused them trouble just because they could. Fairy Tail still hadn't forgiven them for wanting to fire an Etherion blast and raze their sacred island, so relations between the two groups were extremely tense.

Summer also brought with it the newly instated Grand Magic Games. It was a recently established competition, held in the kingdom's capital. Participating guilds competed for the renown of being known as the strongest guild in Fiore, and the thirty million Jewels prize money was nothing to sneeze at. It was an elaborate attempt to discredit Fairy Tail, to entice them to fight other guilds and prove that they weren't as strong as they thought themselves to be.

Fairy Tail had no need to prove themselves. They knew exactly where they stood in comparison to the other guilds. On top. How many guilds had they obliterated? Phantom Lord, when they tried to kidnap Lucy, and Oracion Seis, when they threatened to unleash Nirvana.

There had been an incident, seven years back, with a guild that called themselves Grimoire Heart. The Dark Guild had planned to interrupt Fairy Tail's S-class trials. It was bad luck on their part that they arrived after all the excitement had passed.

Upon reaching Tenrou Island and finding it void of wizards from Fairy Tail, Grimoire Heart took the risk to attack the guild hall head on. Fairy Tail had been blindsided, their guild hall destroyed for the second time by attack from another guild. Ultimately, they had won that war and rebuilt the hall in its previous image. Surprisingly, little Wendy, who had never been much of a fight, was the one to take down its guild master Hades (in all reality Fairy Tail's Second Master Precht) by temporarily borrowing Laxus's Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic.

So Fairy Tail knew precisely where they stood on individual and guild strength.

This year would be the fifth annual Grand Magic Games. Fairy Tail had yet to compete in the mockery of a tournament. They saw no need to. No matter who won the games, the people of Fiore still acknowledged them as best guild in the kingdom. Sabertooth had been the first place winners last year. It stung their pride to be seen as second best to a guild that never participated.

Because of the games, Fairy Tail and Sabertooth shared a rather one-sided rivalry. Sabertooth mages did their best to out perform Fairy Tail wizards and steal away jobs. Thus far, they were unsuccessful. Fairy Tail ignored them, although Gray took unholy delight in mocking them whenever he encountered one of their wizards.

"You're here early, my child," a voice sounded behind her.

"Morning Master Makarov," she greeted, her eyes trained on the horizon.

There was a rustling of cloth and some grunting from exertion as the short man leveraged himself onto the base of the statue. Her brown eyes followed the light of the sun as it rose over the sea, the water's surface sparkling like diamonds from the reflected rays that were painting the dark blue sky an array of pinks, yellows, and oragnes, turning to see it shine off the copper statue behind her.

"What brings you out here at this time of day? The sun's barely risen yet," he said.

"He's coming back today."

The Third Master blinked. "Is he really?" His tone was both wistful and excited. Makarov had missed him just as much as she had. "How do you know? Did Mavis tell you?"

Red hair shifted as her head moved from left to right. "No," she answered. "I didn't need her to tell me. I just felt it . . .here." She pressed a fisted hand to her breastplate, right over her heart. "This morning felt different, charged almost. Something is going to happen today."

"Do you want some company?" Makarov offered.

She turned him down. "No. I'll be fine, and I know you have a stack of paperwork waiting for you in your office."

Makarov grumbled something about it being time to retire and letting someone else deal with the torture that was paperwork, but turned to go inside the guild, leaving her to her vigil. She appreciated the gesture, but she wanted to be the first to greet him upon his return and be the first person he saw.

The woman did not have to wait long. The sun was still only a half circle on the ocean's edge when a male figure appeared on the path. The bright grin across his face was a sight for sore eyes and it grew larger at the sight of her.

Before she knew it she was running to meet him. Her booted feet pounded on the pavement as she fairly flew at him. Once in distance she threw herself into his arms, relishing in the feel of his toned muscles around her.

"Natsu." Her voice was breathy. It was the first time in seven years that she had said his name. "I've missed you."

He chuckled good-naturedly. "I've missed you, too, Erza."

The red head fingered the white scarf that was still wrapped around his neck that covered a scar on his right side. It was the only part of him unchanged. "You've grown. You're taller than me now. And more mature. I wouldn't have recognized you if not for this." Erza tugged on his scarf.

"I'll always be able to pick you out. You're the most beautiful person in the room," he replied.

"Cheesy." She smacked him lightly.

"Honest," Natsu corrected, and kissed her.

"I'm ready," Erza said softly when they broke apart.

The pinkette frowned down at her. "Ready for what?"

"Mavis delivered your message, told us of the approaching war. She said that it would be time when you came home. The entire guild has been training, preparing to fight beside you."

Her explanation did nothing to cease his frown. "You won't be fighting alone this time," Erza said fiercely. The unsaid, _"You won't be fighting without me," _hung between them. "Promise me. You're not going to send me away this time. I'm going to fight with you, protect you."

Natsu hesitated, clearly uneasy about the idea of bringing his mate to fight the darkest wizard that ever existed. It went against his every instinct to protect her.

"Promise me," she repeated.

The fire dragon slayer reluctantly gave Erza his word. "Alright, I promise."

"Good." The satisfaction she felt was evident on her face. "Now come on. Everyone's been waiting a long time for you to come back."

"I'm glad to be back and . . . what is that?" Natsu ran forward to the metal statue that was shining brilliantly in the early sun. Erza laughed at his eyes, which were so wide they looked like they would pop out of his head.

"Is this. . . you guys. . . a statue of me?" He managed to stammer.

"The Master had it commissioned when we got back," she said, coming to stand next to him. "And when Mavis showed up and revealed that you were still alive, he didn't cancel the order. It was going to be a monument to a hero. Now it's a symbol that you can achieve anything."

"Surreal," he muttered. "This is the coolest thing ever!" he exclaimed delightedly.

Erza smiled fondly as her mate raced inside the guild to thank Makarov, inexplicably glad that his childlike innocence was still there. It was one of her favorite things about Natsu, the other being his large heart.

They were going to need a little of that innocence when the arriving storm hit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey readers. I am so sorry this chapter took a while. I'm sorry for my lack of updating in general. The cooling fan in my laptop died on me. So my computer over heated and shut down and refused to turn on. Which was a good decision on its part. But it left me computerless while it was getting repaired.**

* * *

"I see," Master Makarov said. The little old man, who hadn't lost any hair in the seven years Natsu had been training with Igneel exhaled. His attire was unchanged as well. Makarov Dreyar still wore his high collared white cape with the black Fairy Tail insignia proudly emblazoned on its back over a white shirt and red vest combination paired with a pair of simple black pants. He closed his eyes to think, making the lines on his face more prominent.

Natsu had always known the Master was getting up there in age, but now Makarov was looking as old as he was. That air of mischievousness and youth was nowhere to be found.

Finally, he looked at Natsu and Erza. "That should not be a problem. I dare say the rest of the guild will enjoy it."

It had taken Natsu the better part of an hour and a half to explain to Gramps everything that had happened, repeat his father's warnings, and detail the Dragon Slayer's unexpected encounter with Zeref himself.

Makarov had listened to Natsu's tale in stony silence, face never showing emotion. The gravity of the situation was not lost on him.

One of his children was in a precarious situation. Seven years had been a long time, but Makarov understood why the pinkette was gone so long. Relearning and remastering one's magic from scratch was no quick or simple task. It was one made even harder by having to get used to unfamiliar magical coils.

But Natsu had pulled off the impossible once more, controlling his newer and stronger magic with a finesse he had never possessed.

If Makarov was honest with himself, part of his silence came from his incredulity. Natsu's message was as serious as a heart attack. Something the guild master felt he'd be all too familiar with before Natsu finished his mission.

However, he was aware this day was coming. All of Fairy Tail had known.

The First Master Mavis Vermillion had warned them after Natsu's disappearance, telling them they must prepare for the war ahead. She said ti would be obvious when the time to take a stand had arrived.

The infamous Fairy Tactician was right. Natsu's return was an omen of Zeref's.

Makarov saw the irony of the situation, considering Natsu's coming back to the guild was provoked by a surprise visit from the Black Wizard himself. Erza's grimace informed the Master that she could see it too.

He folded his fingers together. He needed clarification. "You don't know where he went or what he wants?"

"Aside from wanting me to kill him?" the pinkette said, half confused and half sarcastic. "No." The Dragon Slayer gave a little shake of his head.

"I see," Makarov said again. "And Zeref chose you to be his executioner? Why?"

Natsu's response was to shrug. "I honestly have no idea, Gramps. Zeref claimed we met once before, but I wasn't strong enough then to 'grant him peace.' Nearly cried when he realized I still wasn't capable."

"How could that be?" Erza finally spoke. The furrowed rows and slightly tilted head clearly showed her confusion. Makarov felt the same.

The one immortal wizard in Earthland was begging for Natsu to kill him. Zeref appeared to know Natsu personally, although the Dragon Slayer swore they had never met. It was a puzzling situation to say the least.

The Third Master reclined in his chair. For once, he actually felt every year of his ninety-five years. "The only explanation is Time Magic."

"Time Magic?" Erza parroted, incredulous. Her face snapped up to meet his, which was fixed in an expression of polite interest. "I know Time Magic is one of the Lost Magics, but what you're suggesting is impossible. Ultear has Arc of Time Magic. She can fast forward an object's time, freeze it, and return it to its original state, but it only works on non-living things and non-sentient living things. Not on humans. Besides, even if it did work on a human, rewinding a human's time would, theoretically, de-age them, not send him through time and space. Time Magic can't e used on such a scale. It would take more magic energy than a single person has."

"You just might be right, Erza," he said cheerfully. She stared at him, bewildered by the complete change of tone. "But we'll know for certain when Ultear arrives."

Erza ignored the drool sliding down the corner of the old man's mouth. She slammed her hands on his desk, which creaked ominously, startling Makarov out of his fantasy. The pinkette's smirk went unnoticed. It wasn't often he got to witness his mate lose her cool. That her anger was directed at the master and not him was a bonus. That it might lead to the destruction of personal property was the icing on the strawberry shortcake.

"Why did you not inform me she was coming?"

Makarov raised a white eyebrow, but otherwise ignored the Re-Quip mage's question. "I talked with young Ultear by lacrima earlier. Crime Sorcière will be here in a day to see if she can evolve Natsu's Second Origin. After hearing the summation of his training, I believe the presence of Crime Sorcière to be essential. There is no one better to help us deal with Zeref."

"But, Master—"

"But what, Erza?" he interrupted, inclining his balding head towards the man lounging beside her, legs outstretched comfortably and hands behind his head. "Natsu seems to have no issue with Crime Sorcière's help."

The female wizard opened her mouth, fully prepared to argue with Makarov. She hadn't even started saying how it wouldn't be good for Fairy Tail if the Council caught them conspiring with an illegal vigilante guild. Or that Natsu had been through enough pain and shouldn't have to suffer more to unlock his Second Origin. But Erza's righteous fury on her mate's behalf was cut off by a light knock on the office door.

"Come in." A pair of brown eyes glared daggers at Makarov.

"We weren't finished," she hissed.

"Yes, we are," Makarov countered firmly, brokering no further arguments. "Crime Sorcière is coming. End of story."

Anger rolled of the Re-Quip wizard in waves. She stood, dragging Natsu to his feet and roughly pushed past the blue eyed, white haired beauty that entered the Master's office.

"Welcome home, Natsu," the woman chirped in greeting, warm smile spreading across her face.

Natsu managed a "Good to see you, Lisanna," before the door shut behind them.

* * *

He followed Erza silently; content to wait to ask his questions. Despite the fearsome reputation she had gained, it wasn't often that Erza found herself truly angry and not just mildly irritated.

Whoever this Ultear person was, his mate was genuinely upset that Gramps had invited her to the guild to meet with him.

Natsu was overcome with an odd sensation. It was so sudden that he almost stopped walking. Erza did look at him askance, however; her face a mix of concern and curiosity. It took him a minute to realize the feeling: hollowness. The same hollowness he felt every time Erza had scolded him, reprimanded him, or disciplined him in any way. The same crushing hollowness he felt when he thought she had chosen Jellal over him.

While the Dragon Slayer had been outwardly cheerful to the point of obliviousness, every fist made him question if Erza would ever look at him the way Natsu wanted . . . no . . . needed her to.

This time, the hollowness was caused by how little he knew of the Erza currently leading him around by their clapsed hands.

Before now, Natsu had never regretted the time spent training with Igneel. It was necessary if he hoped to defeat Zeref, and he was absolutely thrilled to have seven years with the father he had unexpectedly and unexplainably lost. Now all he could feel was bitterness because it was seven years apart from his mate. He should know this Ultear and why the very mentioning of her set Erza on edge.

The red head finally came to a halt; sinking down on a stone bench in a stone courtyard Natsu was certain was a new addition to the guild hall. She hunched over, resting her chin in cupped hands with her elbows situated on her thighs.

He sat down beside her, wrapping one arm around her shoulders, which were tense beneath him. Natsu waited patiently for Erza to give voice to her feelings.

"You must think me insane," she said at long last.

"Always thought you were," Natsu grinned. His cheeky attitude earned him a slap to the shoulder. But it also elicited a small smile from her, so it was pain well earned. The Dragon Slayer maneuvered Erza so that she was pressed against him from knee to shoulder. "So what's your deal with Ultear?"

"It's not Ultear," Erza answered. "Yes, she was more than a little misguided, but she realized her errors and repented for her crimes."

Natsu didn't hide his confusion. If her issue wasn't with Ultear, then it had to be . . . "Crime Sorcière?"

"Not quite. It's . . ." Erza trailed off. "Natsu, I really don't want to talk about this."

Natsu replied in a level tone that she didn't have to talk about anything that made her uncomfortable.

The reverse psychology of the pinkette not pushing for answers made Erza feel guilty enough to reveal her insecurities.

"It's Jellal! He's part of the guild. Or maybe he's the master? I don't actually know. There's only three wizards that make up Crime Sorcière, so they might not have a master. They've been hunting down and annihilating Dark Guilds. Without the Council's permission, of course." She muffled her bobbling by burying her face, which was as red as her sanguine hair, into the fabric of Natsu's waistcoat.

Natsu stiffened minutely. Jellal. That was a name he hadn't heard in a long time, and quite frankly, one that he was fine without hearing. He understood that the other man wasn't at fault. Even if he did have romantic feelings for Natsu's mate, he had certainly never acted on them. Or, at least, not in any manner recognizable as announcing his intentions. Still, Natsu held onto a heavy distaste for the blue haired man. He feared, that so long as Jellal remained a part of Erza's life, there was a chance she might want him instead.

Natsu's heart had already been broken once from a misunderstanding between him and Erza over Jellal. Natsu had no desire to suffer that pain a second time.

Then he relaxed, remembering how Erza had followed him to Edolas after that incident to repair their relationship. Pulling Erza tighter to him, Natsu whispered in her ears, keeping his voice soothing. He had nothing to fear from Jellal. He clearly hadn't approached her in the seven years they were separated and she had been there waiting for him when he returned; the first thing he saw when he came home was his mate, crying tears of joy.

"Jellal is not a problem in our relationship. He is not involved with either of us." Natsu shuddered at the image of him possibly ever being with that man. Erza giggled. "He in no way factors in unless you allow it."

"So you don't care that he's coming?"

Natsu shook his head firmly. "I don't."

Erza carded a hand through his pink locks. They were longer than she remembered, but just as wild as ever. The fly-away hair strands stuck out in every direction. Clenching it in her fist, she brought his face down for a searing kiss.

Black eyes sparkled when they broke apart. "Now, what do you say we put this time and space to good use?"

Erza tilted her head questioningly. "We never did finish that match between us."

Her magical aura practicaly exploded from her as she excitedly pulled her partner to his fee. "I'll have you know that I've added some new armor to my collection."

"Enough to fill another room?" Natsu teased, cracking his knuckles. There wasn't anyone in the guild that didn't know Erza rented extra rooms in Fairy Hills to house her impressive collection of armor.

The temptress in front of him smirked. "Two, actually."

Natsu gaped at her in disbelief as she Re-Quiped into her Flame Empress suit, which would negate any damage from his fire attacks.

"Now I'm all fired up!" he shouted.

"You're going to have to prove yourself, first. Show me that you're strong enough to be worth to match them against you."

"Don't worry, Erza. You'll be changing outfits in no time."

Flames burst into existence around his fist. Natsu sank into a balanced crouch, one leg positioned behind and body angled to the side. His stance would let him dodge quickly if need be but also allow for him to close the distance between them if she didn't make the first move.

Erza could feel the heat from his fire across the courtyard. She withdrew her Sea Empress sword, holding it aloft before her.

With loud battle cries, both wizards leapt forward, striking out with fire and steel.

* * *

Makarov watched the pair clash again and again in his lacrima. He was so very proud of how much Erza and Natsu had grown. Both in terms of physical strength and emotionally.

With a heavy sigh he disconnected the small channel of magic he was feeding into the lacrima. The image vanished, leaving Makarov alone with his thoughts.

Natsu's return, and consequential explanation, had left the question with more questions than answers. For all that the Dragon Slayer had learned, there was still so much that he could only offer opinions and guesses for.

Breaking the news to the rest of the guild was going to cause chaos. The First Master may have warned them this was would come eventually, but Makarov believed, along with the rest of his guild, that it would be decades in the making. But it was not so.

Still, Fairy Tail would enjoy drawing Zeref out into the open.

"Do not worry, Third Master. I will help."

Makarov glanced at the First Master, sitting on the corner of his desk swinging her legs. Her childish appearance was unchanged from the last time he has set eyes on her. She still wore the flowing dress and no shoes. The words of a ghost gave him no reassurance, however.

"Well, not time like the present." His white cape swished behind him dangerously as Makarov determinedly strode to the main lunch hall, the favorite gathering spot of his children, to break the news.

They were stronger together. And together, they would get through this period of turmoil.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ultear's explanation at the end was taken directly from the manga and therefore belongs to Mashima Hiro. And so does some of Jellal's last lines.**

* * *

Makarov lightly leapt atop the bar Fairy Tail's poster girl in Sorcerer Magazine Mirajane was tending too. The gentle woman dressed in maroon glanced up from the glass she was hand drying.

"Good morning, Master," she greeted him brightly. "You're in a cheery mood this morning. Good news to share?"

"The best, Mira. The best. Alright, Fairy Tail! Listen up."

Makarov's voice easily cut through the chatter and din that was commonplace in his guild. He cleared his throat as the wizards that he considered to be part of his family all gave him their attention.

"Something happened this morning that I need to inform you of." He then paused dramatically. After a minute of silence, his shoulders drooped. "What, no guesses?"

"Get on with it, old man."

Makarov pouted, muttering under his breath about how un-cute his grandson had grown to be. Several half-hearted suggestions were offered up, all dealing with Sabertooth or the Magic Council in some form or wild speculation about Romeo's latest job and what he might have destroyed.

The young fire wielder admired Natsu too much for Makarov's own good. He had thought he'd get a break from the extensive paperwork that cluttered his deck because the Dragon Slayer couldn't complete a job without demolishing a building or twelve. Romeo had stepped right into his shoes, from lack of self-control to destructive capabilities to even dressing similarly to the pink haired man.

"Anyway, as I was saying, Natsu returned this morning."

A black haired man without a shirt stood from his seat and slammed his hands on the table. A cross necklace swung wildly from his neck and a plume of icy cloud rose from around his hands.

"Are you for real?" Gray shouted. "It took him long enough. Where is that flame eating bastard?"

Next to him, a busty blonde clapped her hands together and brought them close to her chest. Lucy's brown eyes sparkled. "We should tell Happy! Where is that annoying cat anyway?" She quickly scanned the mess hall, but there was no sight of the flying blue cat. Although she did catch Levy excitedly throwing her arms around Gajeel. Lucy thought it was too cute how those two like it each but pretended not to because they each wanted the other to make the first move.

Makarov allowed his children a moment to celebrate Natsu's return. Then his countenance became grave. Sensing his change in mood, the guild quieted.

"While the return of one of our own after so many years is a joyous occasion, Natsu's return also means that the war is finally here." The entire guild froze, stiffening as if someone has cast a spell to lock them in place. The cheers of joy were quickly replaced with somber, determined faces.

"Yesterday, Zeref appeared before Natsu, proclaiming that the time had come."

The Third Master's black eyes swept over his mages as they digested his announcement, which was essentially Zeref's declaration of war. Whatever the Black Wizard's plans were, he was prepared to enact them, going as far as to beg, to challenge Natsu to kill him.

"Do not look so discouraged," Makarov cried out. "We have prepared for this moment. Now," he continued strongly, "Zeref said that Natsu must prove himself strong enough. Therefore, I have entered Fairy Tail as a participant for this year's Grand Magic Games."

"Finally!" Gray shouted. The Ice Make user had been looking forward to beating certain members of Sabertooth publically. It couldn't get more public or official than the Games before an audience of thousands. "We'll show everyone who the top guild in Fiore is!"

Cana lurched to her feet with a hiccup. "We're number one! We are Fairy Tail!"

The resulting cheers and screams were deafening. Makarov's eyes gleamed with pride as Lucy thrust a hand into the air, curling all fingers but her thumb and forefinger. The rest of the guild was quick to follow up, and his heart swelled looking at them all, banding together, ready to fight the most feared wizard in the world.

He had never been prouder to be the master for this guild.

"Zeref won't know what hit him."

"I agree," Makarov concurred with the First Master, who hovered beside him, gazing fondly upon the current generation of Fairy Tail wizards. "I only hope this will be enough to draw him out."

"It will be. Do not worry Third Master. Zeref has sought out Natsu Dragneel once. He will continue to do so until he has achieved his goals," Mavis said levelly.

"That's what worries me."

* * *

The great thing about Fairy Tail, Natsu mused, was that one could be gone for years at a time, and aside from new faces, the guild would remain unchanged.

He fit seamlessly with Team Natsu, who had kept the name he had given them. His old team of himself, Erza, Lucy, Happy, and Gray had grown to include Wendy and her Exceed Carla (who Happy was head over tails in love with) and Gajeel. He had been very impressed to hear that Wendy had a major part in the defeat of Hades. Just looking at her, Natsu would have never pegged her for a fighter. He had actually done a double take when he saw her, because she had grown to look just like her Edolas counterpart, only she still wore cute dresses and her hair hung in two long ponytails in the side of her head.

Lucy had hugged him tearfully, voice trembling when she welcomed him back. Gray had molded an ice hammer which Natsu had ducked under.

"You'd have been better off with the bazooka," the pinkette had said, clasping Gray's right hand with his own and pulling Gray forward, slapping him on the back with his other hand.

He sat down with them, letting their voices wash over him as he dug into a plate of food Mira had provided. Natsu had enjoyed seven the last seven years with his father, don't get him wrong, but he had missed being home. After the novelty of Igneel's return had worn off, Natsu had wanted nothing more than to return to the guild.

With a bit of effort, Natsu pushed aside the dark thoughts of his eventual confrontation with the none too sane Black Wizard Zeref, and he enjoyed being surrounded by the pandemonium that was Fairy Tail. The issue of Zeref would still be there in the morning, so he chose to eat, drink and celebrate, and to sneak away to his cabin for some alone time with his mate, and slept with her tightly held in his arms.

It was the best night's sleep he had gotten in seven years.

* * *

Natsu had arrived at the guild hall just after the sun rose. He had complained about being up so early, but Erza had insisted, since Crime Sorcière was supposed to be stopping by.

And despite knowing what to expecting, knowing that Jellal would be counted amongst their number, Natsu reflexively tightened his grip on Erza, tugging the scarlet haired wizard flush against his body to stake his claim.

Now truly half-human and half-dragon, he felt very territorial where Erza was concerned. At least regarding other men in her life. The other wizards of Fairy Tail didn't count. Natsu knew them; trusted them. But Jellal Fernandes was a serious threat because of their shared history.

Erza gave him one of her stern looks for the possessive reaction, but she didn't pull away. Natsu knew he didn't have anything to worry about. He wasn't going to let the blue haired man come between him and his mate a second time and Erza had chosen him.

But that didn't mean he was going to let Jellal cozy up to her.

A pale skinned woman with dark purple hair and brown eyes stepped forward, introducing herself as Ultear. Her outfit consisted of little more than a tabard-like garment which accentuated her rather voluptuous figure and a deep blue cloak.

Natsu's gaze didn't linger on Ultear's figure, but Makarov's most certainly did. "Ultear, lovely to see you again, my dear." Erza hit him over the head with one of her special punches that she used to use on him and Gray when she caught them fighting.

Nobody batted an eye as the old man hit the ground with reasonable force, only to spring up like the floorboards had been a trampoline.

The group of six made their way to the master's office with Natsu and Erza hand in hand, the pink haired woman he learned was called Meredy walking beside Ultear, and Jellal bringing up the rear by himself.

"Now," Makarov began critically, "I have asked you to come here for two reasons. The first you already know." He tilted his balding head at the Dragon Slayer. "To see if Ultear can evolve Natsu's Second Origin."

"And the other reason?" Jellal requested.

Makarov sighed tiredly, an aged look settling over his face. "Zeref approached Natsu not three days past." He skillfully ignored the sounds of outrage and surprise that came from Crime Sorcière. "He claimed to have met Natsu once before. A rendezvous Natsu has no recollection of. What I wish to know, is if your Time Magic is capable rewinding time itself, and not people or objects. Can you send someone back in time with your magic?"

"No. Absolutely not," Ultear immediately answered. "I don't know of any magic capable of such a tremendous feat."

"Just as I already told you, Master," Erza said pointedly.

Makarov was not affected by her bluntness. "Now we know for certain. How it happened will have to remain a mystery."

Erza rolled her eyes when Ultear offered to look into the matter, saying that just because such magic was not known did not mean it did not exist. Time travel was impossible, and the master was foolish for still considering it. It was more likely some kind of memory magic had been used on Natsu. Or that, after more than 400 years, Zeref had lost his grip on reality and was confusing Natsu with a pink haired person he had previously met.

"Well, now that that's settled, Ultear. If you would be so kind."

The female wizard stepped forward at Makarov's permission. She raised her right hand, palm facing the ground, and her crystal orb hovered over the back of her hand. "Every mage has something like a container inside them that determines the limits of their magical power. In the case that the container becomes emptied, the Ethernano comes from the atmosphere and enters the body. . . after a while, the container is returned to normal.

"But . . . recent studies have identified a part of the container inside each mage that isn't normally used. A dormant potential power inside of everyone . . . Second Origin. My Arc of Time can evolve your container so that it's capable of using Second Origin. In other words, it will give a giant boost to your magical power, even more than any training you've done until now.

"But . . . you're going to have to endure pain greater than your wildest imagination," Ultear finished with an evil smile and slanted eyes, as if she was enjoying the imagine of Natsu writhing in pain.

Natsu chuckled lowly. "I find that difficult to imagine. I've landed myself in some pretty painful situations. Destroyed my magical core seven years ago."

"I didn't know that was possible," Meredy whispered.

"How can you still use magic?" Ultear pressed. "I can't evolve you're Second Origin if you don't have magic anymore."

"Grandeeney fixed that no problem. She's a dragon. It actually hurt worse to have the coils repaired than it did to destroy them," he said detachedly.

"Right," mumbled Ultear, moving forward to stand before Natsu with the orb floating between her outstretched hands. "Brace yourself."

Warning given, she pushed her magic into the orb, mind focused on connecting with Natsu's magical container. It should have taken only seconds to locate, but Ultear could not find it. Frustrated, she grabbed the crystal orb out of the air so it wouldn't drop and shatter, and took a step back.

"It didn't work. You don't have a Second Origin," she said to him.

Natsu blinked, a little surprised but not unconcerned. Erza had an expectant look on her face, as if she had been anticipating the lack of results from Ultear's magic. Which, the pinkette thought, made sense because, ever since he ate a tiny amount of Ethernano from the Tower of Heaven, his magic had been nearly limitless.

"Perhaps you unexpectedly evolved your Second Origin during the Tower of Heaven incident," Erza suggested, clearly thinking along the same lines as he was. Jellal and Ultear flinched at the unintentional reminder of their past sins.

Makarov smiled congenially as he thanked Crime Sorcière coming. "I have one more favor I'd like to ask of you," he said as the other three wizards made to leave his office.

The turned around just before the door. "Yes?" Jellal asked.

"Help us fight Zeref."

Jellal's eyes became shadowed. "Of course. Our guild was created to fight that monster. To drive away all of the evil brought into this world by Dark Guilds and Zeref . . . so that never again will Dark mages like us be born."


	4. Chapter 4

**Kind of a filler chapter I suppose. The action starts next chapter.**

* * *

Breathless.

That was the only word to describe how he felt staring at the crowded streets of Crocus all decked out for the upcoming festival. Various guild banners flew from the rooftops. Strangely enough, there were dozens of holograms of some pumpkin man.

It was Natsu's first time at the capital, and it lived up to the stories bandied about Fairy Tail's mess hall.

A sense of wonder, amazement, and excitement filled Natsu as members of Fairy Tail pushed down the thick and bustling streets of Crocus. The cobblestone pathways were alive with people. Vendors, shoppers, wizards, performers. It looked like the whole country had come to watch the games.

When Lucy had said this tournament was popular, Natsu wasn't quite expecting such a large turnout. Seriously, did everyone in Fiore show up for this?

Luckily, everyone in front of them moved out of the way when they spotted the Fairy Tail banner, carried by Mirajane because she was one of their more iconic members and her smile made people fall over themselves to make her happy, which the guild walked behind, moving down the street.

No one approached them. They were given space even as a million eyes followed their progress. Unfortunately, Natsu caught every word they whispered thanks to his superior dragon-like hearing.

"Can you believe it?"

"I didn't think they'd ever fight."

"So it is true! Fairy Tail's finally competing."

"This year's games is going to be the best one yet!"

"I'm going to be cheering for Fairy Tail!"

"Do you think they'd let me join?"

"That's the strongest guild in Fiore!"

"They're going to get crushed."

"Sabertooth will win again."

"Why did they pick this year to join?"

"Who's the hot pink haired man?"

Natsu adamantly pretended he never heard that last one, but all the ruckus about Fairy Tail's participation unnerved him.

Fighting between guilds was forbidden by the magic council. So, while each guild built its reputation on completing dangerous jobs, having S-class mages or mages with unique magic, and bragged that it was the better one to join, there had never been concrete, physical proof that one guild was better than another. Unless he counted the scuffles with Phantom Lord and Grimoire Heart.

This competition didn't sit right with the Dragon Slayer. He saw absolutely no reason to abandon the injunction against guild wars. Especially since the same three guilds ranked top three each years since the Grand Magic Games founding. He couldn't help feeling that there was more to the Grand Magic Games than the fame and accreditation that came with winning.

"Hey! You! Salamander!"

Natsu paused, pulling Erza who was linked to him by their interlaced fingers to a stop as well. He hadn't been called by Salamander in over seven years.

He was suddenly confronted by a slim young man with spiky blond hair bearing the symbol of Sabertooth on his left shoulder. Natsu blinked, taking in the slight frontal cowlick hanging in front of his face, slanted dark blue eyes, and diagonal scar above his right eye that pointed towards his cheek. To his right was a dark haired companion, also male, whose shaggy hair hung to his shoulders and covered the right half of his face.

Their posture, relaxed yet authoritive, demanded attention. Had he been that confident at their age? Filled with the belief that he was invincible?

The Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth. The blonde had been pestering his guild for Natsu's whereabouts for the last four years. Natsu was curious about them. Given that they were seven years younger, he wondered how they learned Dragon Slayer magic.

They claimed to be Third Generation Dragon Slayers. Ones that had been taught by a dragon, like himself, Gajeel, and Wendy, but also possessed a lacrima like Laxus did. Perhaps once the dragons came out of hiding, no longer fear their demise at Acnologia's hands, they resumed sharing their magic with humans.

"Did you really kill that dragon? Acnologia? We killed our dragons, too."

A cold sensation settled in his stomach. "No." Immediately the bright, open face before him hardened to diamond. "I don't know what you heard, but I didn't kill a dragon. I killed a man."

Erza, catching the faint stress in his voice, placed a warm hand on his arm to comfort him, gently rubbing her thumb in a circular motion, while the two Dragon Slayers exchanged confused looks. Natsu had had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that not only had he killed a dragon, an act he had sworn never to do, he didn't give a damn if that's what his magic was called, but Acnologia had once been as human as he was. Technically, he had killed a person. It had haunted his nightmares for months afterwards.

The second part filtered through the cotton that filled his ears. _We killed our dragons, too._

"Killing is nothing to be proud of." Natsu's tone was as glacial as Gray's ice. "Especially not your parents."

Sting, who Natsu recognized based on descriptions from just about everyone in the guild, took a half step back, wounded look coming up to cover his face like he had been struck. "But . . . we're Dragon Slayers!" he said hotly, and a little crudely.

Natsu studied the pair. They looked lost, floundering almost, like he had crushed their dreams or ripped the floor out from underneath them. "You don't understand what it means to be a Dragon Slayer. You should learn your history."

With that he walked around them, leaving them dumbfounded and frozen in the middle of the path, to catch up with the guild.

"Why does that matter? What do you mean, Natsu?" Sting called after him.

The fire Dragon Slayer responded without turning around. "Acnologia was once a Dragon Slayer."

* * *

Sting watched Natsu and his companion walk away, back stiff with anger. "You don't think that could be true, Rogue?"

"Natsu did not appear to be lying. In fact, he has no reason to," he pointed out calmly.

"But how would he know that?" Sting pressed.

"I assume his dragon told him. Either way, what does it matter?" Rogue asked. "You got what you wanted. Whether Natsu considers Acnologia a human or a dragon, he confirmed that he killed him."

A wicked smile split the blonde's face. "That's right. He did." His eyes tracked the pink hair that stuck up in every direction as Natsu moved further away, taking note of the inn he entered flying Fairy Tail's red banner.

"I hope I get a change to fight him. He's probably as strong as us."

Rogue said nothing in response. Chances were, if Natsu's claim was true, he was strong than Sabertooth's Twin Dragon Slayers. But he saw no need to clear that matter with Sting, who would only become angry and insist that he could beat Natsu.

"What about you, Rogue?"

The dark haired teen shook his head. "No. I'd rather fight Gajeel."

* * *

Despite the whole guild (aside from Gildarts who was off on another 100 year mission, which was probably for the best since his Crash magic would turn Crocus to rubble) making the journey to the kingdom of Fiore's capital, only ten members would be able to participate in the highly prestigious and most celebrated competition.

It was a new rule for the Grand Magic Games, which had previously only allowed one team, consisting of their best five people, admitted per guild. This year they were allowing each guild to enter two teams. It had the potential to double the number of teams participating, with each guild thinking they stood a better chance with twice as many wizards. Although Natsu believed the more renowned guilds like Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus would only enter one team composed of their best.

For those guilds, selecting the team members was probably tough. For Fairy Tail, it couldn't be easier. The only stipulations were that all team members had to be part of the guild and the master was forbidden from participating.

Team Natsu's reputation was legendary across Fiore. His, Erza's, Gray's, and Lucy's spots were guaranteed. As was Wendy's, since she had become a member of the team while the pinkette was training with Igneel. The young woman certainly deserved it. She had come a long way from a girl that only used her magic to support and heal to a true Dragon Slayer capable of fighting.

Surprisingly, the second team was agreed upon easily. There was no doubting Laxus's strength. He was the master's grandson and a Dragon Slayer. In that regard, Fairy Tail really loved their Dragon Slayers because Gajeel was also a member of the team. There was also Juvia, Cana, and Mirajane, and if Natsu was honest, that combination of women scared him. Mirajane was a demon, Juvia thought Gray was handsome, and Cana could drink two dozen barrels of mead and still throw those cards with pinpoint precision.

He supposed that entering a second team could be seen as a sign of weakness on their part. As if ten of them were needed to beat a team of five. But Natsu didn't see it that way. Fairy Tail was going to grab the opportunity given to them by the wings and showcase their best.

Makarov had debated over admitting the second team. Pride weighed heavily on his choice, as well as how his guild would be perceived if they were the only major guild to enter two teams. Ultimately, he had put Natsu's mission as priority over his pride.

Zeref wanted Natsu to make a statement and the Dragon Slayer was going to deliver. It would be made all the easier by having a second team that ensured only the next strongest six made it to the finale to be their opponents.

The Grand Magic Game consisted of two main parts. A preliminary game, in which eight teams moved on to the actual tournament part.

The preliminary game would start with short notice. As would all the games, actually. According to the official mascot and referee Mato, a short man wearing a giant pumpkin mask, the rules of each game would only be announced right before the start.

That meant they couldn't choose the best wizard suited to the task.

The anticipation more than anything else would be what killed him. He sat in the pub of the inn Fairy Tail had been assigned, knee bouncing rhythmically under the table. The Dancing Sun wasn't anything fancy, but it was warm and cozy, and surrounded by the guild he considered family, Natsu could pretend it was home.

Seven years with his father had curbed his attack first plan later style of fighting. Not that he wasn't still impulsive. Natsu measured possible outcomes and unhesitatingly followed through on the one he liked best, even if it might not be the most appropriate or effective method. It was a process which usually involved relying on his gut instincts.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Erza asked, sitting down beside her mate.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"If you truly meant it," she was her rejoinder.

Natsu attempted to smile but only managed to life the corner of the right side of his mouth. There was a tremendous amount of pressure riding on tomorrow's preliminary game. Only eight out of the two hundred teams competing would move onto the main event, and they had to be one of them.

"You'll be with me?"

"Always."

"Then I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Natsu turned sideways to straddle the bench, intent on kissing Erza until she was breathless, but was interrupted by Mato's voice.

"Attention all participating teams! If you would please step outside your lodgings, kabo!"

Fairy Tail's ten chosen competitors trekked outside the Dancing Sun. Mato's pumpkin face was painted across two hundred holograms above the city.

"The preliminary game is about to being, kabo! This one's called the Labyrinth of Lies. All you have to do to qualify is be one of the first eight teams to reach the stadium, Domus Flau. As always, no killing, but don't be afraid to knock out competitors, kabo. All five members of a team must reach the finish line. Best of luck to you all, kabo!"

The holograms switched to show each team. Natsu assumed they would somehow track their progression through the labyrinth.

The ground before them shook, a large square of dirt crumbling to reveal a rough staircase.

"Begin, kabo!" echoed Mato's voice, and two teams shot into the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5

Natsu took the lead as Team A descended into the underground tunnel. Fire danced over his left hand, acting as a makeshift torch. He couldn't help but be amused at the idea of over two hundred teams scurrying around this dark labyrinth like rats.

Being able to see didn't make solving puzzle an easier task, but it certainly gave them an advantage. At the very least they would be able to mark the path they took so they'd recognize it later.

The walls were a burnished orange color. Tentatively, Natsu reached out and tapped one of the bricks. His entire body was wound tight, anticipating some kind of trap.

"Good idea, Natsu," Erza acknowledged. "We have no idea what these tasks are like, but I can't imagine our only challenge is to find our way out. Be prepared for surprises."

"But Erza," Lucy said nervously, edging away from the wall, "we can't test every stone for a hidden trap! That would slow us down and then we definitely won't be one of the eight teams that make it to the end. They're probably all pressure triggered."

Gray, who thankfully hadn't removed any part of his uniform yet, stepped around the females so he was next to Natsu. He slapped a palm to each wall and a thick sheet of ice spread from his hand until both walls were covered from floor to ceiling. The temperature immediately dropped a couple of degrees.

He cocked his head. "There. Nothing's breaking through that ice. Now let's get going."

"We can't just leave all this ice behind," Lucy exclaimed as they started running. "Another team would be able to follow our progress."

"I don't think it matters here. I mean, we're the only team that enters in this tunnel," Wendy pointed out.

"But that won't be the case once we leave this one. I just think it is a terrible idea to leave behind an obvious trail."

Gray grunted. "I'm not the only Ice-Make wizard in this competition. Lyon's participating too."

"I could melt it," the pinkette suggested. "A bit of water on the floor would probably go unnoticed." No one raised any objections, so Natsu took that as agreement.

Roughly three minutes later they came to a three way intersection. "Well guys? Which way to Domus Flau?"

Natsu directed just a smidgeon more magic to his left hand. The flames grew until all three tunnels were illuminated. Standing in the center, he couldn't see any difference between them. No distinguishing marks that indicated one of them was the correct path to take.

"We should take the right hand hall," Erza said firmly. "The stadium is northeast of the Dancing Sun, so we should take this right and a left at the next cross section."

"Or we could keep going straight and take a right later," Gray argued.

"Or," the blonde Celestial wizard said, "I could summon Pyxis and he can point us in the right direction." Gray and Erza paused their argument, which was all the consent Lucy needed. "Right, then. "Open! Gate of the Compass! Pyxis!"

A tubby bird like Celestial Spirit appeared at Lucy's feet, wrapping his wings around her legs. Lucy knelt. "Can you tell us which way is Domus Flau?"

The compass atop Pyxis's head spun, settling on east. Pyxis pointed to the tunnel Erza had selected with both his wings.

"Thanks, Pyxis." The Celestial Spirit returned to his world in a burst of light.

"Ano, I think we should go left," Wendy said before Gray could move to ice the walls, pointing to said tunnel. "The air that way smells the freshest," she explained when the four older wizards turned to stare at her."

Erza, who was nominally in charge because the Re-Quip mage was the leader on their jobs, glanced at Wendy, then at Natsu. She knew her mate's sense of smell was strong, but Erza had only known him to use it when searching for a person.

Natsu inclined his head, silently saying that he trusted Wendy's nose in this matter. "Then it is your job to make sure we stay on the path to the stadium."

The blunette nodded firmly at her directions, pleased that her abilities would be of use in this challenge.

Natsu took a second to melt the ice behind them and used a dragon's claw to scratch a small scar in the rock so that, on the off chance they wound up at this intersection again, they wouldn't take the tunnel that led to their starting point. He did the same to the left tunnel before Gray worked his magic on it.

"Wait," Lucy said. "Do you think we should ice over another tunnel? Lay a false trail?"

The question was directed at Gray, who considered it before shaking his head. "No. It would only be the one tunnel. If someone was trying to follow us, they'd wonder why there weren't any more iced tunnels after that one."

The blonde deflated. "Still, maybe just one tunnel is enough. It means they'll go the wrong way at first," she insisted.

Not wanting to waste any more time than they already had, Gray frosted over the right tunnel. It lead in the opposite direction of where they were head and it did actually lead east towards the stadium.

The team set off down their chosen tunnel, Natsu in the lead with his fist still encircled with fire to light the way, followed by Erza. Lucy, whose Golden Gate Keys were very useful in such small confinement, except for maybe Loke, Virgo, and Capricorn, ran in the middle. Gray was behind her which left Wendy at the end of the line. But it was the best position for her because she could blow away a team that sprung up behind them with her Sky Dragon's Roar.

Natsu wondered how many other teams would be hindered by the layout. All five members of Team A were known for destructive attacks and a fighting style that generally utilized a lot of space. Cana, Juvia, and Mirajane on the other team would probably be alright. Laxus was worse off because of his sheer size. Plus, as a Dragon Slayer, both he and Gajeel were in the same boat as Wendy and himself.

It made him hope, as they followed the tunnel as it curved to the left, that they didn't come across any other team. Trying to incapacitate another team in such small quarters would be difficult and there was no way they'd meet up at intersections where there was actually space to fight.

It happened randomly. A stone sank beneath his foot. Automatically, he tensed. When nothing shot out of the floors, Natsu decided it was just a loose stone and kept moving.

He regretted that immediately when the tunnel began to shake and a thundering sound of hundreds of things running echoed behind them.

"Run!" he yelled. Unnecessarily since all five of them took off as soon as the tunnel shook. "Wendy!" he snapped. "Get up here! You're going to have to lead us."

The younger Dragon Slayer moved to the front of the line and Natsu increased the intensity of his flames so that they would illuminate further. At the same time Erza dropped back, Re-Quiping into her samurai armor. With a katana in each hand, the red headed mage dealt with the frontline rats when they tried to dash forward.

"This is your fault!" he shouted at Gray when he caught sight of the St. Bernard sized rats chasing them.

"You set off the trap, you flaming numbskull!"

"And you didn't think to cover the floors, too, you walking popsicle!"

"Don't blame this on me! You didn't think of it either!"

"Sagittarius!" A tall, black haired, lanky man in a horse costume appeared, arm already raised in solute.

"Moshi moshi."

"No time for that, Sagittarius. Can you do something about those disgusting rats?" Lucy asked.

"Of course. What do you wish me to do with them, my lady?"

"Kill them!" she shrieked hysterically.

"These vermin will be no match for my arrows." The spirit knocked three arrows, pulled back the string, and launched them at the rats with incredible speed. Three rats dropped with an arrow protruding from their eye.

Sagittarius repeated the process until he ran out of arrows, by which point the carcasses of twenty-four rats littered the ground. "I have done all I can, my lady," he announced and closed his own gate.

Natsu quickly lost track of all the turns they made. He had hoped the rats would tire eventually, but that didn't seem to be the case. He wished he could stop for just a minute and roast the beasts, but time was off the essence and the group wouldn't be able to run anywhere without his fire to light the way.

"There are still hundreds of them!" Gray yelled after a quick look over his shoulder.

"Throw up a wall!" Erza barked back at him.

"What happened to not leaving behind a trail?"

"Escaping from those rats is more important."

The dark haired man couldn't argue with that, especially since he would be the first one ripped to shreds if they were caught. "Ice-Make: Wall."

A solid layer of ice grew between the wizards and the rats. The horde of creatures didn't seem to care that they were now blocked off from their targets. They just piled against the ice, thrashing and scratching.

"Let's keep moving," Erza said definitively, and as much as the other four didn't want to, they agreed. It would be nice to catch their breath for a minute, but they wanted to be far away from the rats when they did so.

A cracked reverberated down the tunnel. As one, the five wizards turned to Gray's wall of ice and the wriggling mass of rodents on the other side. A thin crack had formed right in the center, and the more the rats writhed against it the larger it became.

They took off again at a sprint, determined to put as much space between them and the rats as possible before they broke through.

The path Wendy followed wound right, up a flight of stairs, and she entered the right hand tunnel right at the top. Team A only met one team, from a minor guild that Natsu didn't recognize, who they easily defeated.

He started to question the design of this labyrinth when the tunnel they were in started to descend in a corkscrew spiral. How on Earthland was this going to lead to Domus Flau?

The tunnel leveled off after a long while. Wendy then led them down a long hall, ignoring all the tunnels that bisected it. The tunnel ended in the largest space they had encountered thus far. A high ceiling, circular chamber.

Gray, taking precautions, put up another ice wall to block the door. It was doubtful that the dog sized rats would chase them this far, but it was better safe than sorry.

"There are nine other doors," Lucy remarked. "How many teams do you think made it here already? We're probably close to the stadium. I bet they included this room so they could have some teams fight."

"A lot of teams will probably get lost here. There's only a one in ten chance of picking the right door," said Wendy.

"This would be a really could place to make competitors go the wrong way," Lucy continued."

"Are you still on that?" Gray asked.

"All we have to do is ice one doorway and anyone else who makes it this far will think we went that way."

Seeing that the blonde wasn't going to give the idea up, Gray asked which door she wanted blocked, which cause her, Wendy, and himself to start a debate over which door could be used as bait without looking like an obvious trap.

"Natsu, come have a look at this."

The Dragon Slayer walked over to his mate, who was examining stone pictures carved into the walls. "Not the time to be admiring art, Erza," he nudged her gently. "Kind of on a time crunch still."

"There are dragons. The wall is practically covered in dragons."

That garnered Natsu's attention. Black eyes scanned the etchings, widening in surprise and then narrowing in recognition. A disturbing feeling of unease settled in his stomach. "These pictures shouldn't be here."

"Why?" Erza asked in response to his murmur.

"This," he said, waving his hand at the etchings as a whole, "shows the Dragon Civil War. The one where Dragon Slayers were created to aid the dragons that wanted to coexist with humans. But the story's not that well known. After four hundred years, only the few dragons left know about it."

He pressed closer to the wall, fingertips running over a length that depicted a man's head on a dragon's body. They even had the truth about Acnologia. That meant the wizard with a raised book next to him had to be Zeref.

"Do you think this is a coincidence?"

"No," Natsu denied. "Definitely not. This is connected."

Erza laced their fingers together. Seven years she had waited for a sign of the Black Wizard, because such a symbol would mean Natsu's return. And now that she had it, it was cropping up everywhere. Even the Games, if rumors were to be believed, were based on something called the Festival of the Dragon King.

And seeing the scene before her, it wasn't difficult for Erza to guess what happened at that festival.

"Wendy, which door leads to the stadium?" The girl dutifully scented the air and pointed to the door behind Lucy.

"That one. The fresh air is really strong. I don't think we have much further to go," she surmised.

"Let's go, then, Fairy Tail. We've got a tournament to win."

Grinning, the team of five exploded into action. Natsu challenged Gray to a race and the two men ran ahead, plastered against each other in attempts of shoving the other out of the way and being the first one to exit the labyrinth.

As it turned out, Team A was the third team to make it to Domus Flau. The first two being Sabertooth and Fairy Tail's Team B. They didn't have long to wait for the other five teams, which included Mermaid, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerberus, and one called Raven's Tail.

"Congratulations to the teams that made it out of the Labyrinth of Lies, kabo!" Mato's voice rang above the roar of the crowd gathered at the stadium that was their end goal. "And welcome, to Domus Flau!"

At this the cheering grew impossibly louder.

"Allow me to explain the rules for the rest of the Grand Magic Games. It will be a five day tournament with two events per day, kabo. One surprise event, in which one member from each team will participate and each member can only participate in one surprise event. Team's will receive points based on their position at the end of it. First place receives ten points, second gets eight, then six, four, three, two, one, and last place earns no points, kabo.

"The second event is the battle event, where a member of each team is pitted against another, kabo. The winner gains ten points for his or her team and the loser receives none. In the event of a tie, both competitors are given five points. The fighters will be chosen by fan vote, kabo."

The pumpkin wearing announcer clapped his hands excitedly. "Now that you all know the rules, let's start with the first event, kabo! Who will be first to participate from each team, kabo?"

From the preliminary straight to the first event. It was an interesting strategy. Natsu could tell just by observing the other teams that some of them had to fight to get her and place top eight. It was sort of dirty, starting the main competition when everyone involved didn't have all their magic available.

"I think Erza or I should go first. We have the most versatile magic," Lucy reasoned.

Natsu didn't want to sound rude, but he didn't considered Celestial mages very versatile. Lucy had fifteen keys she could summon, albeit, and each one had a very unique skill set (although he wasn't certain what Plu could do).

On the other hand, Erza had over one hundred armors she could Re-Quip into, twice as many swords, and a natural ability for telekinesis that she hardly ever used. But Natsu didn't want to use Erza right out of the gate.

"I think Wendy should go first. She can fight, heal, and support herself with her magic."

Wendy looked stunned at Gray's nomination. "Me? You want me to go first? But you four have been part of Fairy Tail longer than I have."

"The amount of time you've been a member doesn't matter. You are part of Fairy Tail," Erza said firmly. "Gray's right. Since we don't know what the first event will be, you're best suited for it. You're abilities are well rounded."

"Not to mention," Lucy piped up, "with how young you are, the others will probably underestimate you." She meant for it to encourage Wendy but it seemed to do the opposite.

"You'll be fine, Wendy, just do your best." The Sky Dragon Slayer nodded at Natsu, repeating his words under her breath as she stepped forward.

The remaining four members retreated to the viewing balcony they were directed to, which contained the rest of the guild, from where they could watch the first event unfold.


	6. Chapter 6

**For future reference, apart from the Pandemonium/MPF game, where the participants remained unchanged, the participants for all the other games and one on one battles were drawn at random out of a cup.**

**Also, sorry for the late update. I struggled a lot with the battle portion of this chapter. Turns out I only needed a long block of uninterrupted time. I hope it turned out well.**

* * *

The other members of Team B greeted them when they emerged onto Fairy Tail's viewing balcony. A quick glance told Natsu that they had chosen Laxus to represent them. It was hard to overlook a man of his size.

It was a different approach than Team A had chosen. Wendy was a safe choice, reasonably skilled in combat now that she had the chance to train in a real guild that hosted a myriad of fighting styles, with an essentially limitless power source seeing as she only needed to breath to replenish her magic. So long as the air wasn't poisoned at least. On the other hand, Laxus's brawn was intimidating. By choosing Laxus first, the team insinuated that the rest of the members were equally as strong or stronger, enough so that they could afford to play one of their best cards on the first day. They must be hoping to earn points right out of the gate and establish themselves as a team to beat.

Natsu allowed himself to be entertained by the thought of Laxus having to compete in some kind of stealth challenge, because he never missed a chance to needle the master's grandson, before the pumpkin headed mascot began announcing the first event's competitors.

He recognized Rogue from his earlier run in with the Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth, find it more than a little amusing that every team that had a Dragon Slayer chose one. Seeing that though, the pinkette wondered if it would have been better to have picked Gray. Say what you would about each magic having its advantages and disadvantages, there was something about Dragon Slayers that made them insanely difficult to overcome. Next time they would wait and see who was chosen from the other teams.

Natsu knew the Blue Pegasus guy as one of those ridiculous Trimen that flirted with every female but Lucy, mentally reminded himself to pummel Ichiya if the old man so much as looked in his mate's direction, and vaguely remembered the dark pink haired chick as the girl from Galuna Island.

The three unknowns were introduced as Alexei from Raven Tail, a tall man completely dressed in armor wearing a long cape that reminded Natsu of Gramps's own cape and Laxus's jacket (his scent was also familiar but Natsu knew that he had never encounter this man before), Araña Webb of Mermaid Heel, who, based on her name and spider themed full body suit, probably used magic related to spiders, and Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus, who looked hung over although Natsu had no idea how he managed that.

"Now let me explain the first game, kabo!" he said brightly as a multitude of balloons appeared above the stadium. "The game is called "Eyes in the Sky," and I'm sure you can understand why, kabo," chuckled Mato.

Lucy clapped excitedly, eyes sparkling as she envisioned an easy victory. "This'll be a piece of cake for Wendy! Her roar will destroy all those balloons before the other teams get a chance."

Natsu's lips twitched. He normally enjoyed the blonde's optimism, but there were times where Lucy got caught up in her day dreams. Erza was quick to say that it was improbable for the game to be so simple, as Lucy's idea lacked entertainment value.

The lacrima vision shifted to show an up close view of the multicolored, inflated spheres. Emblazoned on the surface was each guild's symbol. The wide shot was then replaced with the individual image of each emblem.

"The object of this game is to pop as many of your balloons as you can within the time limit," Mato explained. "For each one you pop, you earn one point."

"But Fairy Tail will have an advantage," Eve commented. "There are twice as many balloons with their mark than the other guilds. Not that you need an advantage to win, Wendy," he sidled up to the Sky Dragon Slayer, laying an arm across her shoulders and using the other to tilt her face up at him. "I know a fair maiden like yourself would never take advantage like that."

Wendy blinked, taken aback. Before she had time to respond, Laxus had ripped the shortest Triman off. "Don't molest young girls." He glared down at Eve, who had lost his balance when Laxus forcefully pulled him off his guildmate. Eve spluttered at the accusation.

"It's not molesting!" he cried. "I'm appreciating a woman's beauty!" he protested, receiving encouragement from his two partners in crime.

Mato cleared his throat loudly, regaining the eight wizards' attention. "Yes, well, as you can see, that' not the case. Wendy-chan must aim for the blue symbols and Laxus-san the red ones, kabo." His clarification stopped any further outbursts of unfairness from the rest of the teams. "Also, you are not allowed to break another team's balloon. Do so will result in you losing points. Lastly, there are some blank balloons, that is balloons with no symbols. Pop one of those and you're in for a nasty surprise, kabo!"

The announcer was entirely too overjoyed with that idea as evidenced by how he danced from foot to foot.

Natsu rested his elbows on the low stone wall that Makarov stood on; the only way the master would be able to see the games. Those restrictions would make it harder for Wendy. Dragon Slayers weren't meant for precise attacks. Most of their attacks were the wide scale, devastating, leave nothing untouched type. Similarly, Rogue and Laxus were in the same boat.

"Does everyone understand, kabo?" Mato received several nods and words of agreement. He then waved his hand and a timer, set for thirty minutes, appeared in the bottom right hand corner of each lacrima vision screen. A running tally, currently set at zero, slide up the left side of the screen. Natsu groaned, losing all interest in the game. A half hour of nothing but balloons bursting was going to be agony.

"Best of luck, kabo. You're time starts now!"

There was an explosion of movement, and noise as the crowd started hollering, cheering on their favorite teams and wizards, as the eight wizards leapt to the task at hand. Natsu took a long minute to watch Wendy, who was huffing little air bullets. The blue haired teen was methodically destroying balloons one at a time, always sighting her target before releasing her explosive breath.

He spared a brief moment to be surprised by Laxus zipping around like a lightning bolt, before studying the other six competitors. Seven years was a long time away, and because of that he didn't know these wizards or their capabilities.

According to Jellal, Zeref or someone with one of his many creations, had made an appearance at the previous two games. However, Crime Sorcière had only sensed the magic. They didn't have any concrete, physical proof of the Black Wizard. Still, Natsu was inclined to believe his word, if only because Zeref had found him and spoken to him in person. He thought it more likely that someone had an item similar to Lullaby in their possession, because Zeref's direct presence could hardly go unnoticed in Fiore's capital.

At least he hoped so. He thought it highly unlikely that the Black Wizard was attending himself, for the man was afraid of his magic and how easily it could end another person's life. Plus, no one in the audience had ever unexpectedly dropped dead.

Although Natsu really couldn't rule out possession. Either way, the source of the magic would have to from a team that had participated in the last two Grand Magic Games and made it to the top eight.

From research, the Fire Dragon Slayer knew that Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, and Lamia Scale all fit those criteria. Personally, Natsu didn't believe any of those teams were responsible for the magic Jellal had sensed. Sabertooth was arrogant and ruthless, but that didn't automatically equate to evil, no matter how much the guild reminded him of Phantom Lord.

Natsu resolved himself to keep a close eye and nose on the other six guilds. He had no room for error and couldn't let personal feelings get in the way. He had no doubts he would scent the Black Wizard's magic if it was used, even in the confusion of a stadium full of wizards. Zeref's magic scent was too strong, too pungent to be mistaken.

"Pay attention, you numbskull." Gray emphasized the order with an elbow shoved into his ribcage. "The Games more than half over and you're staring vacantly into space."

The pinkette didn't' retaliate, he could always make the stripper pay for the insult in the safety of their team's inn, but his gaze did jerk to the timer, at 10:47 and counting down. Then he looked at the scoreboard.

With every second Rogue's total was creeping higher, inky black shadows writhed as the burst balloons left and right. Laxus was maintaining second place, but he wouldn't be able to overtake Sabertooth's Dragon Slayer at the rate the younger man was accumulating points. Wendy had fallen to the bottom, resting at seventh, just above Eve, and the other four spots were changing rapidly.

Natsu snorted when Sherry lit up, shrieking in pain as she was zapped. The puppeteer was momentarily dazed, but returned to her task with gusto and a cry of love, and slightly smoking.

Judging by the blackened clothes and hair sticking up on ends and occasionally sparking, Natsu guessed accidentally hitting one of the unmarked balloons was common. Only Laxus appeared unaffected, but it wasn't like lightning could harm him. That did make it more impressive that Rogue was winning, since he must have popped one at least once.

Strategies became reckless as the seconds slipped away. With half a minute left, the pinkette could predict the final standings, which Mato gleefully confirmed when the timer buzzed, indicating the end of the mind numbing game.

"And that's it for "Eyes in the Sky," kabo! First place goes to Sabertooth!" Rogue was silent and stoic in his victory, even as the crowd exploded. Mato's magically enhanced voice rose above them to continue announcing the standings. "Fairy Tail Team B takes second, followed by Raven Tail, Quatro Cerberus, Mermaid Heel, Lamia Scale, Fairy Tail Team A, and in last with no points is Blue Pegagus."

A dejected Wendy made her way up to the guild's designated seating. "I'm sorry everyone," she apologized tearfully. "I was pushing the other teams' balloons away. I should have focused on mine."

"Don't worry about it, Wendy," Lucy said, smiling. "It's only the first day. We can make it up later."

"Lucy's right," Erza stated firmly, fixing the younger girl with a proud look. "Since we go into each event unaware of the challenge, each of us can only do our best. Don't let your performance today drag you down."

Fairy Tail, never known for holding back, was going to give their all in the Games. Not just to prove that they were Fiore's strongest guild, because Fairy Tail didn't care about the title. It wasn't in their nature to back down when innocent lives were at stake.

If they didn't stop Zeref here, the might never do so. The First Master believed that Zeref had waited peacefully for four hundred years because he knew he would meet Natsu, who had sworn to defeat him. He didn't mind waiting for his desire to become reality because he knew when it would occur.

It was the only explanation as to why he hadn't continued with his campaign of despair and destruction. He wanted to be granted peace in death and was willing to wait until someone Zeref knew to be capable came along.

Makarov agreed with Mavis that time travel had to be involved, for how else would the Black Wizard know Natsu's name or his desire to kill him. She also warned the current master that there would be dire consequences if Natsu failed. One only had to look at Zeref's history to imagine the horrible future that awaited if he decided Natsu would never fulfill his expectations.

"Now to introduce our commentators," the Grand Magic Games' host proclaimed. "First is Chapati Lola." He was a short, middle aged man, with a large face, abnormally small eyes, and very square jaw. His nose and mouth were close to his eyes. "Our second main commentator is former Magic Council member and current owner and chef of 8-Island restaurant, Yajima." The old man waved at Fairy Tail, pleased to see his old friend's guild. "Our guest for the day is Mickey Chickentiger, formerly of the Fairy Tail guild and female wrestling champ."

After introducing the three commentators, Mato asked for their opinions on the first game.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say it was electrifying!" Lola laughed at his own joke that only Erza and Mavis found witty. "Sabertooth and Fairy Tail taking first and second was only to be expected. What was surprising was Lamia Scale's placement." The lacrima vision briefly flashed to show the stony faces of said guild. "Sixth place is a little low for them. They've continuously ranked second in previous games. It's a disappointing start."

"And what about Fairy Tail's performance, kabo?" Mato pressed. "Two wildly different standings, second and seventh."

Yajima fielded that question. As a friend of Makarov's, the sympathetic old man was usually in their corner. "I think Fairy Tail may surprise us yet."

"Victory is not set in stone," Mickey agreed. "There are still several opportunities ahead to snatch triumph from despair."

Mato quickly agreed, encouraging the lower ranking teams to not get discouraged by one poor performance. "Now let's move on to the second round, kabo. The first battle will be between Cana Alberona of Fairy Tail's B Team and Flare Corona from Raven Tail."

Fairy Tail's resident drunk set down her barrel of ale, where it came from in the first place was a mystery, and swiftly marched down the tunnel to stand across from Raven Tail's chosen fighter, a red headed woman with waist length braids tied together behind her back, red eyes, and keeping with the pattern, wearing a revealing red dress. Flare tilted her head and shoulders to the side with a deranged grin, anxiously tugging on her hair behind her back.

"A reminder of how this works," the pumpkin headed host said, "the winner earns ten points for her team while the loser gets none, kabo!"

"And if we tie?" drawled Cana, eyeing up her opponent's demented smile.

"A tile will be called if the match takes longer than thirty minutes or both adversaries are simultaneously knocked out. In which case both teams will be awarded five points, kabo," he answered. "As the sole judge, I can step in at any time and end the match."

"That's not cool," Gray said lowly.

"Why not?" Wendy asked. "If it's for the safety of the fighters—"

The Ice-Make wizard cut her off. "There's no guarantee that he won't call a match in favor of the team he wants to win." The blunette deflated at the thought of the committee member abusing his power to choose the winner.

She perked up almost immediately though as Mato called for the battle to start. "You got this Cana! Show her who's boss!"

Gildart's daughter went on the offensive first. "Card Volley!" she cried, palming a small stack of her magic cards and spreading them with her thumb.

She flung the cards at Flare. The red head's hair came unbound and separated into several sections which deflected Cana's attack with deft slaps. The cards careened off course, hitting the dirt behind and to the side of Flare, and exploded forcefully.

There was a charged silence as they waited for the dust to settle.

"Even the innocent looking ones like destroying things," bemoaned Yajima and Natsu snorted. Innocent was not a word used to describe the woman that could drink the master under the table since she was eleven.

When the dust did settle it revealed that neither woman had moved from her starting position. Flare's hair swayed behind her, much longer now that it was freed.

"Hair Magic, huh?" mused Cana. "This might be harder than I predicted."

Flare cackled in return, red locks dancing about. "I'm going to clip your wings, little fairy!" Two strands of her hair plunged into the ground. Cana immediately jumped away, expecting them to reemerge beneath her.

That was the reaction the Raven Tail mage was expecting. "I've got you now, fairy!" she exclaimed, hair shoot up and wrapping around Cana's ankles. Using her second of surprise, Flare lifted the card mage, spun her about so quick that she nearly lost her bag, and flung her.

Cana hit the ground hard, rolled once, twice, than dug her heels and left hand into the dirt, leaving behind a trio of skid marks. Her right hand dug into her satchel. This time she withdrew two different kinds of cards. There were a few that the same type she had initially launched at Flare, and the second type bore a flame design.

She flung them in the other wizard's direction. The explosive cards hovered in a curved line before her. A burst of flames appeared and shot across the distance between Cana and her opponent, quickly followed by that attack from Cana's second set of cards, which changed into fire covered bullets mid-flight.

Both attacks were blocked by a wall of shimmering hair. "You're pitiful fire can't touch me, baby fairy," she said scornfully. Then she grinned manically, red eyes shining and widening, making her look even more insane. "Let me show you what true flames feel like."

Flare then proceeded to use her hair as multiple flame coated whips. Cana did her best to dodge, but the woman had enough hair to make a wardrobe for Gray and an outstanding amount of control over it. When Flare paused her assault, Cana's midriff and back bore several crisscrossing shiny burns.

"Do you see now, little fairy? Do you feel the burn?" she taunted. "I'm better than you. You should take your punishment like a big girl."

Flare's hair lit up again. The brunette threw down a single card depicting a flowing fountain. She activated it with a touch of her fingers calling out, "Prayer's Fountain," and then leaping out of the way when several beams of water came out.

Flare was knocked down by the pressure. She stared wide eyed when the jets of water died out, not giving a thought to the massive puddle of water she now sat in nor the fact that the dirt had turned to mud and she was wearing quite a bit of it. She blinked the liquid out of her eyes, shaky hands grasped at her wet hair and twisted, trying to wring the excess water out.

"My beautiful hair!" she shrieked once she realized the futility of her actions. "You'll pay for that, fairy!"

Natsu found himself impressed by the sudden wave of heat as Flare relit her hair. Anger, and any negative emotion most likely, seemed to make her flames stronger. Cana's best hope at this point was to tough it out and survive the battle. If dumping a river of water on her head didn't stop her from setting it on fire, nothing would.

Unfortunately for her, Flare took exception to the fact that Cana had liberally doused her with water. From there, the first devolved into a one sided beat down. One that Raven Tail drew out without any interference from Mato, making it more a prolonged torture than an actually fight.

"What an amazing match!" Lola shouted as he readjusted his crooked wig. "Poor Cana just didn't match up to Flare's brilliance. That's ten more points for Raven Tail, putting their total at a respectable 16 points, and no points for Fairy Tail's B Team."

Mirajane and oddly Gajeel helped Cana to the infirmary, the latter sharing a disgruntled look with Alexei when he returned to the balcony.

The pinkette watched the next match with disinterest. It was between Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus, two guilds that weren't contenders on his list of possibly in league with Zeref suspects.

And it was a hilariously unbalanced match. Nobarly, a man with an elongated, pointed nose and even longer blue bandana, didn't even have a chance to use his magic. His opponent, one Kagura Mikazuchi, was a swords specialist. She struck him down without unsheathing her sword, slashing at him so fast that even Natsu's eyes couldn't keep up.

Mermaid Heel cheered their comrade's victory and the addition of ten points to their score as Mato declared the next battle to be between Sting and Lyon.

Despite himself, Natsu was grudgingly curious. Both Sting and his partner had claimed to have killed the dragon that taught them Dragon Slayer Magic. From Igneel's stories on the history of the Dragon Civil War and his own firsthand experience with Acnologia, he knew that was no easy feat. Seven years later he could admit that he took the quick and dirty route by forcibly overloading and exploding his magical core. If that triumph was turned into song, it was only because Fiore thought the Dragon King would never be slain. Could he have killed Acnologia another way? Possibly. But Natsu hadn't seen any strategy where he was guaranteed to be the one standing at the end of the fight and so choose to go with the one method that guaranteed Acnologia wouldn't be.

Lyon took the initiative, unleashing a swarm of ice eagles on a deadly arc towards the blond haired teen. Sting obliterated them with his roar, dashing forward to engage the ice wizard in hand to hand combat.

As a Dragon Slayer, Sting was remarkably stronger than the average person and he was considerably fast. His right hand was covered by a sphere of white light and his punches were a blurred barrage, steadily forcing Lyon to give up ground. Sting ended the fist fight with a kick to the gut that sent Lyon sprawling.

The white haired man regained his feet, making an ice dragon that towered overhead. With a thrust of his arm, the dragon arced down. Sting looked more amused than anything at Lyon's choice of creation. He leapt on the back of the ice dragon.

"White Dragon's Holy Breath!" he shouted, releasing a powerful burst of light from his mouth, and the dragon befell the same fate as the eagles. Sting pinned his opponent with a disdainful look. "Come now, I was hoping for a challenge."

"I would be careful what you wish for," Lyon replied. In quick succession he generated an army of ice animals. Natsu briefly pondered the wizard's fascination with them, thinking it unusual that he and Gray studied under the same teacher but developed to vastly different styles of magic. It might work in Lyon's favor if he took a page out of Gray's book and created a bazooka instead. Sting dispatched wave after wave of tigers, bears, and wolves with ease.

The Sabertooth mage joined the open palms of his hands together, pressing all his fingers into contact with the opposite hand. He separated his palms while keeping his fingertips connected. A bright light white generating in the hollow space between his hands.

"Holy Ray!" he yelled, separating his hands and extending them horizontally at his sides. The light built into a large sphere from which numerable white rays were fired on a curved trajectory. Lyon was bombarded by beam after beam of light in rapid succession.

Lyon slammed into the stadium wall, covered in abrasions. He took two shaky steps away from the wall, hands coming together, one fisted and pressed against the other's palm, in preparation of a counterattack, only for his feet to fall out from under him.

His knees hit the dirt with a thud and his upper body just fell forward. After a long moment in which no one moved, Mato called the match in Sting's favor.

"And once more Sabertooth demonstrates their indomitable strength and tenacity. Fiore's number one guild ends the day with an impressive twenty points!"

"And for today's final battle," Mato once more took center stage to announce the last pair to duke it out, "we have Blue Pegasus's Eve Tearm versus Gray of Fairy Tail's Team A, kabo!"

The Ice-Make wizard didn't bother to hide his smirk once his name was called. "Bad luck for you, man. I'm immune to your Snow Magic."

"We'll see about that. White Out!" announced Eve, extending his arm and summoning forth a light blue magic circle, which had the immediate effect of creating a snowstorm and burying Domus Flau's arena in several feet of soft, white, fluffy snow.

Gray adopted a relaxed posed, knees slightly bent, hands in pocket and not even looking at Eve. The purple coat from their team outfits and his beige shirt were nowhere to be seen. "My turn. Ice Make: Ice Cannon!"

Bazooka cannon in hand, the dark haired wizard fired an ice cannonball at Eve, who let a Snow Clone take the blow for him. Gray followed up by creating two blades of ice, one jutting out from his right elbow and the other growing over his left forearm.

"Seven Slice Dance!" He spun in a circle three times, slashing at Eve seven times like the name of his attack. Five individual strikes and a final dual strike. The ice blades broke once he landed on one knee.

Eve fell on the flat of his back. The blonde seemed oddly cheerful for having come in dead last in both events. "It really was a bad match up."

End of Day One

Sabertooth: 20 pts  
Raven Tail: 16 pts  
Mermaid Heel: 13 pts  
Fairy Tail A: 11 pts  
Fairy Tail B: 8 pts  
Quatro Cerberus: 4 pts  
Lamia Scale: 2 pts  
Blue Pegasus: 0 pts

* * *

The three wizards composing Crime Sorcière slipped into the Honey Bone Inn, Fairy Tail's temporary base, while the guild was celebrating. Any excuse to party was welcomed with open arms, so even though they weren't in first place, fourth and fifth were good.

In the lavish suite Makarov had been provided as the guild's master sat eight wizards. Makarov, Natsu, Erza, Laxus, Gajeel, Jellal, Meldy, and Ultear. It was an odd assortment of wizards, and the pinkette couldn't figure out Laxus's and Gajeel's presence.

"This is the first time Raven Tail's participated in the Games," Makarov opened.

"Ivan wants something," Gajeel shrugged. "He hasn't said what, but he's gunning for sparky over there." He jabbed a thumb at Laxus who deigned to roll his eyes.

"I'm prepared to fight my old man," he said gruffly.

"Don't treat this so lightly, Laxus," his grandfather warned. "Ivan formed his guild with Fairy Tail in mind, inviting mages that specialize in what he's calling anti-Fairy Tail magic to join. And he's no slouch himself. Ivan's illusions will not be easy to overcome."

"Your son's guild was a dark guild."

"Is," Makarov, Laxus and Gajeel corrected Ultear in chorus.

"Is," she repeated. "Could he be working for Zeref?"

"I haven't felt Zeref's magic," Natsu added.

"But that doesn't prove that Raven Tail isn't working with him," Erza finished.

Jellal folded his hands underneath his chin. "I haven't sensed the strange magic yet either. So we have nothing." His analysis was met with grim silence.

Meldy laid a hand on his shoulder. "There's still time. We'll catch him," she vowed softly.

* * *

The amalgamation of wizards plotted for another two hours, deciphering every guild's intentions and questioning the curveball that Erza and Natsu threw at them by mentioning the carved mural the Re-Quip mage had discovered in the preliminary.

Neither Jellal nor Makarov could provide a feasible explanation as to why the etchings were a part of the Games, but both feared what it could mean. Zeref's involvement in the war, limited as it was to telling Acnologia the ritual to change him from man to beast, was known only to the dragons.

The secret war council, as Natsu had taken to calling it, was dismissed while the party was still in high swing so that Crime Sorcière could leave undetected. Not in the celebratory mood, the Dragon Slayer retreated to the room he shared with his mate.

Sleep evaded him. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the crude depictions of humans slaying dragons, enemies and allies alike, and Zeref's disappointed face, a solitary tear sliding down the side of his face. They were no closer to discovering the source of Jellal's mystery magic and Natsu feared that they wouldn't learn the truth until it was too late.

Too late for what, he didn't want to know.

Erza pressed herself flush against him, cutting off his train of thought. Automatically, his left arm went to her back and guided her closer.

"I can practically hear those wheels turning."

He sighed. "Sorry, Erza."

She rose up on her elbow, propping her head on the palm of her hand. The other reached out to lace fingers with his. "I know you're frustrated. This isn't a situation you can solve by smashing a few buildings and beating the bad guy until he can't walk."

Her try at humor earned her a strained smile.

"It doesn't matter if we don't beat Zeref this week." Natsu opened his mouth to argue that the whole issue was the Black Wizard needed to be defeated sooner rather than later, but Erza rested one finger against his lips, signaling that she wasn't done and that he needed to listen and not just hear.

"It doesn't matter if we don't beat Zeref this week," she repeated. "We can do it next year or twenty years from now. He's already proven that he'll keep coming back to you, so you'll always have another chance."

Natsu smiled warmly at her. "First, don't ever say it like that again. You make him sound like a lovesick fool." The red head laughed lightly. "How do you always know what to say?"

"I don't," answered Erza. "I stumble through life day by day, just the same as you. But that's why I know you don't need to give yourself an ulcer worrying about 'what ifs.' Zeref and Raven Tail will still be there in the morning, so there's no point in losing sleep over the matter."

The pinkette heard the admonishment for the order that it was; a demand from his mate that he stop keeping her from his sleep and cuddle with her.

"I love you," he murmured.

"Love you, too. Now shut up and go to bed."

"Yes, dear."


	7. Chapter 7

Day two of the Grand Magic Games started at a normal hour, for the competing guilds anyway. When Fairy Tail made their way to the stadium an hour early, for the first event didn't start until the noon sun was high in the sky, the stands were teeming with people vying for the best viewing seats in the house.

They were by no means the only guild to think of coming early. Several guilds had already arrived. The all female guild of Mermaid Heel stood casually in their box, presenting a strong front and a sense that they were well prepared and could afford to relax. Raven Tail was stoic; tall and armored Alexei was flanked by his team, and Blue Pegasus was playing up their misfortune, simultaneously garnering sympathy and promising a better performance.

All in all, the day was unfolding like anticipated. Except for the figure shrouded in dark blue cloak, bandana, and bandages carrying five staves across his back.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you in Edolas with no way of returning to Earthland?" Natsu asked the man. How had he managed to find the exact same staves his counterpart wielded, because those were also still in Earthland's mirror world.

Jellal ignored the heavy sarcasm with which the question was delivered. "Mystogan is technically still listed as an active member of Fairy Tail."

"That doesn't explain what you're doing here masquerading as him," Erza said pointedly. "The Magic Council is aware on some level of Edolas and what happened there."

Fairy Tail and the Magic Council had never seen eye to eye. Unfortunately, informing them had been unavoidable. No one in Magnolia remembered the entire city vanishing, them along with it, to become a giant lacrima to provide the magic-less Edolas with the resource they so desperately wanted. And while time hadn't flown linearly and Magnolia had only be gone minutes for the several days Natsu had spent in Edolas, the Magic Council had registered the massive spike of magic energy and demanded an explanation.

The former council member shrugged. "They won't be able to prove I'm not who I say I am."

"It's still a risk," Lucy commented, lips pulling down into a frown.

"I feel it is necessary to be on site for when that unusual magic is sensed."

Gray looked at him dubiously through lidded eyes. "You're certain it's Zeref's magic that you've been sensing? There are thousands of wizards here."

Jellal seemed to scowl under his costume. "I'm certain. The magic only appeared in the last two years and then only for a moment."

"It could be that someone's first time at the Games was three years ago," Erza suggested reasonably, crossing gauntlet arms, clearly unimpressed with the man's logic.

Jellal shook his head in denial. "No. This isn't natural magic. It's . . ." he struggled to describe how the mystery magic was different. "Something else," he settled. "It's Zeref. It has to be Zeref."

There wasn't a chance to respond, as Mato made his appearance to the roar of the crowd. Not that Natsu knew what he would have said. The more he learned about the situation, the less it sounded like they were dealing with Zeref and more like something else entirely.

If he was being honest with himself, he was starting to doubt the Black Wizard's involvement in the weird happenings Crime Sorcière was monitoring. Voluntarily putting himself in the midst of a large crowd of people wasn't Zeref's modus operandi, and there hadn't been any reports of areas where everything unexplainably died, although it was possible that such an incidence could have been covered up. But Natsu couldn't think of an alternative source for the magic.

"Welcome back to day two of this year's Grand Magic Games!" the pumpkin headed mascot said happily with raised hands. "We have a most competitive event planned for today, kabo. But first, let me introduce our guest commentator for the second day—Jason, reporter for Sorcerer Weekly Magazine!"

"So cooooooooool to be invited!" the man exclaimed.

Next to him, Lucy cringed. "Why did they invite that annoying guy?"

"You just didn't like the column they did on you. I think he's an okay guy," Gray finished with a light shrug of his shoulders, unbothered by Jason's overly excited presence.

"Of course I didn't! It was absolutely awful!" the Celestial wizard protested, complete with facial expression and tone to convey how she thought the piece in question was appropriately horrible. "They asked more questions about Erza and my body measurements than me, and no Gray that doesn't count as asking about me," she snapped when he opened his mouth. "Not to mention the reporter was very rude about the whole thing."

"The name of the game is 'Reflex,' kabo," declared Mato.

"Reflex?" Wendy repeated.

"Sounds like a test of speed," added Erza. "It's too bad the team's compositions are not flexible. Jet is the perfect choice for such an event."

Jellal's eyes roved over the assembled members of Team A. "So which of you is the fastest?"

Erza took a moment to consider the question. "If it is just a matter of speed, I would say Natsu, since he can use his fire as thrusters. But I can't imagine it is that simple. Reflex implies reaction time, in which case Gray would be the better option."

His eyes widened, clearly not expecting that analysis. "Me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes," the red head affirmed. "The nature of your Ice-Make Magic has honed your reaction time, both physical and mental. You have very little time to gauge an opponent's attack, choose an appropriate counter measure, and respond."

"The other teams are mostly selecting females," Natsu commented, studying each lacrima screen that appeared as their team's made their decisions. Not that Mermaid Heel had the option of choosing a male competitor, but Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, and Raven Tail had also elected to have one of the fairer sex represent them.

Mato announced them, practically vibrating with excitement. "And we have the charming Risley Law of Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth's newcomer Yukino Agria. From Raven Tail is yesterday's victor of the battle portion, the fiery Flare Corona and the lovely Miss Jenny Realight steps forward for Blue Pegasus, kabo."

As soon as Blue Pegasus' competitor was announced, Mira's face flashed under the banner for Fairy Tail B.

"Let me go," Gray said, dark eyes focused on Flare. "Whatever the game, I can handle Flare. Her fire's no match for my ice. It's nothing like candle-head's here."

"Very well."

When the rest of the participants were decided, Yuka Suzuki and Rocker from Lamia Scale and Quatro Cerberus respectively were the last to join. From there, Mato directed the eight wizards to stand in two rows of four in the stadium's center facing each other. Eight purple magic circles appeared before them, giving rise to podiums.

"Anyone else confused about what's going on?" Lucy asked, half raising a hand.

"If you would all please step up to the podiums, kabo," the short pumpkin-headed mascot directed, "and press the button you find there."

Rocker was the first to do so. A lacrima vision screen above his head lit up with his guild's symbol.

"I have here," Mato waved a piece of paper above his head, "a list of questions. The first to buzz in gets to answer. If they're correct, they'll receive points. Incorrect answers cost one point and another team gets a chance to steal the points."

The Fire Dragon Slayer let his head thud on top of the brick railing. They sent Gray down to play trivia. The guy couldn't keep track of his clothes. There was no way Mira wasn't going to sweep the competition. The cheerful woman made it her business to know everyone else's. She knew everything. She knew things about her guild mates before they knew it themselves.

"What a misnomer," Lucy complained, arms crossed under her bust.

"Not necessarily. If you want to win this game, you need to be fast."

"And yet, you can't always reach for the button," Wendy added to Jellal's explanation. "What if you don't know the answer?"

"Let's start with the first question, kabo. For one point each, name members of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Mira's Fairy Tail symbol lit up red, and she rattled off a list of names. "God Serena, Hyberion, Wolfheim, Warrod Sequen, Jura Neekis, and Master Makarov of course."

Natsu paid attention to the trivia game with half a mind. It was enough to realize that there was some kind of rivalry between Mirajane and the girl from Blue Pegasus. He could almost see the sparks of lightning when the other answered a question.

After ten or so questions, the subject changed from the mixture of history and current famous things to something more interesting.

"Fairy Tail was featured on what issue of Sorcerer Weekly, kabo?"

The questions continued in that vein. How much did the magazine cost? (580 Jewels) What was their most popular column, etc. Jason would shout "Bingo! That's right!" and occasionally "Sooooo coooooool!" when a particularly difficult question was answered.

Natsu was so caught up in watching Gray snark in grump about the question theme that he nearly missed the flare of dark magic that was surprisingly nearby.

The Dragon Slayer jackknifed upright. "Was that-?"

"No time," Jellal snapped. "Hurry! We can't let him get away."

The two men raced out of the stands. The magic pressure was building, growing stronger and denser. In synchronization, they turned down the empty street leading towards the palace.

Only, it wasn't empty. In the middle of the cobblestone street stood a black cloaked figure.

"The magic's coming from him," Jellal hissed in his ear.

The hooded figure spun around, running down a side street the second he caught sight of Jellal and Natsu behind him. The duo gave chase, but ultimately lost the mysterious wizard when he slipped onto a crowded street.

However, they didn't return to Dormus Flau immediately. Instead they split up, one going up the street and the other searching down, on the off chance the cloaked wizard was still blending in with the throng of people to avoid detection.

"Find him?" Natsu asked when the joined up again.

"No," his partner exhaled violently. "We were so close."

"Come on," the pinkette urged. "We'd best let the Master know what we found."

They arrived back in the stadium just in time to witness Mato read the last question, a bonus question that would double a team's current score if answered correctly.

"Final question, kabo! What is Erza Scarlet's favorite Requip?"

As one, all of Fairy Tail turned to look at their resident Requip Mage, who was sporting a little smirk.

"Heaven's Wheel Armor," Risley guessed.

"Flame Empress," was Gray's answer.

"Blackwing," Yukino said softly.

"Giant's Armor."

"Adamantine Armor."

"Purgatory Armor."

"Flight Armor."

At zero for seven, the rest of the guild decided to chip in, listing of the rest of her still unnamed armors.

"Lightning Empress."

"Heart Kruez," Romeo suggested. "Erza-nee only uses the other armors when she has need of their unique abilities, but she's always wearing that armor."

"Hardly ever fights in it, though," Levy pointed out.

"Robe of Yūen."

"Morning Star Armor."

"Armadura Fairy."

"That is my second favorite armor, for it embodies everything it means to be a Fairy Tail Wizard." That response earned Erza several puzzled glances. If the armor that was literally symbolic of the guild was only her second favorite, which one did she consider worthy of being number one?

At this point Wendy, who was staring at the red head with wide eyes, asked, "How many armors do you have, Erza-san?"

"Over one hundred, last count," was the reply.

"Sea Empress."

"It has to be her Seduction Armor." Natsu glared at Max for that answer, displeased with the idea of anyone imagining his mate dressed up all sexy and seductive.

"The Nakagama Armor," Makarov offered, knowing how rare it was for a wizard to actually be able to call upon it.

"Piercing Armor."

"Wingblade Armor."

"The Farewell Fairy Tail Armor!"

Mira lightly pressed her buzzer. She tilted her head to the side with her eyes closed and nose just the tiniest bit wrinkled. "The Bunny Girl," she giggled.

"Correct, kabo! And with that, Fairy Tail's B team sweeps the board and earns ten points."

In unison, the entirety of the guild fell over with a loud cry of, "Are you kidding me?"

"It's true. I said it myself in an issue of Sorcerer Weekly," confirmed Erza, eyes gleaming delightedly.

Natsu laughed uproariously, until he noticed the visible stripe of flesh between bandana and mask flushed deep red. Nagneel rumbled in the back of his mind. Did Jellal still harbor romantic feelings for his mate? He wrapped an arm around Erza's waist and pulled her closer. "I love you. Any chance you'll wear that outfit for me tonight?" he whispered, voice low and husky.

"Behave," came his mate's stern reprimand, offset by the playful push at his shoulder.

A quickly recovered Makarov reclaimed his seat atop the stone balcony. "This game was quite tame, wouldn't you agree, Third Master?"

"They're building up to a grand finale," he said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.

"Or this is the calm before the storm," Mavis gave voice to his fears.

"Yes," Makarov agreed, darkly. The old wizard shifted his attention to Natsu and Jellal. "Well boys? Anything to report?"

"He rabbited," said Jellal bitterly. The grip he had on his staff threatened to break it in two.

Natsu felt it was the perfect moment to mention that, whoever it was that they had chased, his magic didn't feel like Zeref's.

"Are you certain of this?" Makarov was grave. While the implications of Zeref being involved were terrible, it was worse to think that there was an unknown wizard comparable to the Black Wizard in power.

"Absolutely," the Dragon Slayer affirmed. After meeting with the man personally, he was intimately aware of the feel of his magic. "I know Zeref's magic and that wasn't it. Plus, I don't see any reason for him to disguise himself. He's not exactly good at the whole low key thing." The last observation was added almost as if it was an afterthought, but it lightened the atmosphere and allowed the conversation to move forward as Natsu intended.

"Could you find him again?" the Third Master asked.

"Sensing his magic will be no problem. It's catching him," Natsu admitted. "It may be from his previous visits, but he knows the city well."

"All we can do is try," said Mavis.

With the spontaneous war meeting over, the pinkette turned back to the Games and Mato, who was wrapping up the current standings. Despite taking sixth during the trivia event, Sabertooth still held the lead, albeit by a slimmer margin. Raven Tail and Fairy Tail B were just a point in front of Mermaid Heel and tied for second place. His own team was sitting comfortably in fourth.

"On to our first match up, kabo!" Mato shouted excitedly. "Beth Vanderwood of Mermaid Heel versus Sabertooth's own Minstrel Who Sings to the Red Moon: Rufus Lore!"

Gray couldn't contain a snort. "Are you kidding me with the flowery name?"

"No favoritism there," Lucy grumbled.

"He certainly looks the part," commented Natsu, as the long blond haired wizard in question approached Mato. Red vest, lots of cuffs, flimsy cravat, pleated pants, gold trimmings, and a long pink plumage capping his wide brimmed hat. He was like a Sabertooth version of Freed, which was more than confirmed once he opened his mouth.

"While chivalry is not dead," he began, voice dripping with self-importance, "I have no memory of allowing a woman to best me."

"So cool," Jason swooned.

Beth, looking small, rough around the edges, and out of place besides him, bristled. "I'll show you allowing. Carrot Missile!"

"Those are high quality carrots," Yajima commented. "I wonder if she would consent to make some for my restaurant. I make a mean carrot spice cake."

Natsu blinked as a barrage of oversized carrots launched towards Rufus and consequently sailed right through him.

"Illusion Magic?" murmured Erza.

Rufus's voice echoed eerily throughout the stadium. "All that is left is a memory."

Markarov sucked in a harsh breath. "Memory Magic?"

"What's Memory Magic?" Lucy asked.

"An ancient kind of molding magic," Levy answered. "But I don't know anything more than that."

"That's the summation of it," Makarov picked up. "It's a fearsome magic; the ability to memorize and use any opponent's magic."

Rufus demonstrated as the Master was explaining, returning Beth's vegetable flinging attack with a volley of his own carrots, which she dodged by burrowing underground.

"Let's see you copy what you can't see," her voiced sounded out, muffled. "Cauliflower Bomb!"

White clouds of smoke filled the arena, masking both competitors from view. Rufus's form shot out of a rising plume of smoke, coming to rest on the head of one of the four giant decorative statues. He laid the forefinger and middle fingers of both hands on either side of his temple and a red magic circle and yellow helix spiraled behind him.

Lola leaned forward into his microphone. "Now that is a familiar pose. Is he going to 'forget' Beth's smokescreen?"

"Now that I have a memory of your magic, your spell is useless. Let me demonstrate. Memory-Make: Forget," he intoned, eyes blazing red.

The smokescreen vanished, revealing a startled looking Beth. "Now it is time I end this." Rufus resumed his Memory-Make stance and extended his arms outwards. "Memory-Make: Night of Falling Stars."

For a brief second, the entire stadium darkened. Then Rufus's body was engulfed in a bright light. A beam of light shot from him, rocketing towards Beth. The imagery did rather remind Natsu of a shooting star.

"What's this?" Rufus murmured, not seeing his attack strike its target. "I have no memory of this spell being thwarted. The beam should have struck home, for she did not have enough forewarning to dodge."

The Mermaid Heel wizard was, presumably, surrounded by a brown mass that was the largest potato Natsu had ever seen, easily twelve feet tall. Beside him, Happy drooled at the idea of the girl creating a fish equally as large.

"She has Vegetable Magic, Happy," the pinkette explained, fond smile pulling on his lips. "She doesn't make fish. Only veggies."

Beth pulled herself out a hole in the top. "That was my Potato Cocoon Shield," she twanged proudly. "They store and conduct electricity." With surprising strength, she hefted the root vegetable and chucked it at the Sabertooth mage.

Abject destruction of public property by way of a two ton explosive potato. Beth Vanderwood was a girl after his own heart.

Interestingly, Rufus didn't simply 'forget' her spell again and render the potato bomb useless. He leapt, allowing the explosive potato to impact the statue, generating a shockwave that shook Dormus Flau down to its foundations. Pieces of stone crashed around them.

When the dust settled, fortunately for Sabertooth before the thirty minutes expired, Rufus was standing victorious over an unconscious Beth, who had, unfortunately, been knocked out by the falling debris.

The spectators were silent, unsure how to react in light of Sabertooth's win, which came not as a result of Rufus's greater skill and Sabertooth's superiority, but the happenstance of Beth being unable to dodge all of the falling rocks. She had surprisingly put up a better fight than anyone had anticipated. Had she managed to dodge, the fight may have gone on to be called a draw.

"What a disappointing ending," sighed Yajima.

"Totally uncool," Jason sulked, slouching in his seat.

To muted cheers, Mato announced Sabertooth the winner and summoned Yuka Suzuki and Jäger to be the second match.

Natsu vaguely recalled fighting the spiky blue haired wizard on Galuna Island, though his hair was significantly longer and tied back in a braid now. His eyebrows were thicker than he remembered. His opponent, from Quatro Cerberus, dwarfed him. Jäger was, much like the rest of his team, a tall and robust man. Yuka's body was as thick around as one of Jäger's arms.

He was interested in this fight, wanting to see if Yuka had better mastered his "Anti-Magic" Magic, overcoming the devastating weakness in the form of physical attacks that the Dragon Slayer had proved it had. Because Jäger had the muscles to knock his opponent around.

Yuka folded his hands behind his back. "I specialize in Wave Magic. It would take an exceptional mage to overcome me." His looks may have changed drastically, but his arrogance remained the same.

Instead of being angered by the slight at his ability, Jäger took the other wizard's words as a challenge to prove himself, an attitude that earned him the applause of the watching crowd. "When I beat you, it will be WILD!" The last word was echoed by his howling teammates.

The two competitors put up a good fight. Jäger started off by summoning forth a giant flytrap plant that swallowed Yuka whole. Natsu thought it an interesting solution to get around Yuka's magic negating ability. It would take a lot of magic to negate something as enormous as the flytrap was, and could he even negate attacks from more than one direction at the same time?

They were, oddly enough, evenly matched. When his man-eating plant failed, Jäger threw out several different style of spells. His thorn barrage was met with a shield of Wave magic which nullified them midair. Similar fate befell the poison ivy vines meant to render him immobile.

Unlike when Natsu had fought him several years ago, Jäger didn't realize the inherent weakness of his opponent's magic. It was this fact which dragged out the battle, because Yuka clearly remembered and was keeping his distance to prevent a close combat fight where he would be put at a severe disadvantage. It mattered not that Yuka nullified every spell aimed at him, because he couldn't match Jäger in terms of physical strength, and he wouldn't be triumphant if he couldn't deal with Jäger after his magic had been 'sealed.' Not that he ever sealed his opponent's magic, fearing that he would result to physical force.

"A tie was the best they could hope for," Erza said when the bell sounded. "Had they faced any other, their chances of winning could not be guaranteed. This way, both teams earn points."

Natsu didn't bother to point out that even when a victor appeared to be guaranteed, anything could happen. Beth and Rufus's match had proven that.

"The third fight is Wendy Marvel of Fairy Tail's A team."

"A chance to redeem myself. I won't let you down this time." Her eyes blazed.

"And, oh, kabo, she's against Laxus Dreyar of Fairy Tail's second team," Mato finished.

Determined, the blue haired teen marched down to the arena. "Don't you dare go easy on me," she ordered, pining her fellow Dragon Slayer with stern eyes.

"This sucks," Gray said, crossing arms over his suddenly bare chest.

"Have faith in Wendy," chided Lucy. "She's really grown into herself. There's no reason she can't win."

"I don't doubt the strength of her heart. Wendy will fight with everything she's got. The reach of her arms, however . . ." he trailed. True, the Sky Dragon Slayer was a young adult right now, but she was still more than a foot shorter than Laxus. "But what I meant was that only one of our teams is going to earn points."

The Celestial wizard subsided. "Is there any need for one of them to lose? They could tie," she posed.

Natsu laughed. "What guild do you think you joined all those years back?"

"Fairy Tail never holds back," Erza said strongly. Everyone ignored the Master muttering that sometimes his children should think of all the paperwork their excessive force caused him. "Especially against our own. How can we improve and grow stronger if we do not constantly push past our boundaries and limits?"

Poor Yaijma looked mournfully towards the heavens. "There won't be much of the stadium left standing after this."

"Oh!" Lola pressed, interest piqued. "What makes you say that, Yajima?"

"I used to work for the Magic Council back in the day. Fairy Tail was a constant source of trouble and paperwork, but their antics were amusing. Both Laxus and Wendy are Dragon Slayers. We might as well be watching two dragons fight."

"You're telling me that cute girl has one of the most powerful and destructive magics known to exist?" Natsu didn't know the man's eyes could get any wider, because they were rather small to start, but he was wrong.

"Lightning Dragon's—"

"Sky Dragon's—"

"Roar!"

Both wizards arched back as they drew on magic power and leaned forward when they released it as a bolt of lightning and a column of whirling wind respectively. The two elements collided with a colossal bang.

"Not bad, kid," Laxus complimented, eyeing the gouge left behind from the force of the two attacks meeting in the center.

"Oh my," Lola said faintly, clutching at his blond wig.

"Thanks," Wendy smiled brightly. "But I'm just getting started."

Her left arm moved behind her back, bent at the elbow. Her right arm angled straight across to the other side of her body. "O swift wind," she started, and a column of sparkling air flowed up from underneath her, tugging on her clothes and making her long pigtails flap wildly. Wendy moved her arms overhead as she continued her chant, her left still crooked at the elbow so it laid across the top of her head and her right palm was aimed at the sky, "that speeds through the heavens."

At this point, a white blue magic circle appeared beneath her feet. Now she moved her arms down, first to her right side and then thrust out to both sides, palms facing away from her. "Ile Vernier!" she finished.

A white blue aura surrounded her, suspending Wendy in midair. She shot off like a bullet, slamming into Laxus. Before he could recover, she smashed an elbow into his solar plexus.

"Did you see that? Because I certainly didn't," Lola joked. "Wendy has increased her speed. I wonder what other surprises she has in store for us." Jason echoed his sentiments with his trademarked exclamation of how Wendy was 'so cool.'

She came around for a third hit, this time aiming for the face, only for Laxus to vanish, trailing lightning. Wendy barely had time to realize her opponent was no longer in front of her before he retaliated, throwing her into the arena wall.

"You're fast. I'll give you that," he conceded. "But lightning will always be faster. Being fast isn't enough to defeat me."

The blue haired girl landed on the wall feet first and pushed off immediately, rocketing past Laxus. She came to a stop across from him. Raising her left arm over head again, hand bent back at the wrist, Wendy began chanting. "I call upon thee, o power of the stout arms to cleave the heavens." The magic circle spun to life beneath her a second time. Wendy lowered her arms, crying out, "Ile Arms!" which caused the aforementioned limbs to glow.

Wendy grinned, pleased. "With this attack enhancement spell, I don't need to be faster. Just quick enough to land a blow."

The female Dragon Slayer charged, thrusting her arm across her body, fingers splayed. "Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!" A wake of wind followed the path of her fingers.

Laxus, unprepared for the force of the blow, made significantly stronger than he calculated by the effect of her Arms spell, was knocked on his back. Wendy tried to press her advantage, but was forced to keep her distance when he summoned a bolt of lightning to strike between them.

He climbed to his feet, rolling his neck to release the tension. The sound of bones popping echoed and he spat a glob of blood at his feet. Laxus shrugged off the fur lined coat that he wore draped across his shoulders. "I guess it's time for me to get serious."

Laxus raised his arms to shoulder height, generating electricity between his open facing palms. It quickly shaped into a massive spear, which he hurled at Wendy. "Lightning Dragon Slayer's Heavenward Halberd!"

She dodged by directing a roar at the ground, propelling herself into the air, just clearing the fast moving attack. She landed lightly on one foot with the other stretched out to one side for balance.

Laxus was waiting for her, fist crackling with energy. His hand to hand combat skills were stronger and he overwhelmed her. All Wendy could do was block and dodge and try to minimize the damage.

Laxus was, undeniably, a master at close quarters combat. His speed, combined with his offensive, brutal, and straightforward style of fighting was meant to not give his opponent an inch. When his lightning magic was added to the mix, to great effect, his punches and kicks became that much stronger. Against a wizard that was not a Dragon Slayer, such an attack would have been lethal. As it was, Wendy winced with every landed blow, and the area rapidly blossomed dark purple bruises.

She definitely looked worse for wear when she managed to put space between them, surprising him with an air bullet. Laxus had to cross his arms to protect his head, giving her just enough time to disengage to a safe distance.

Laxus grunted. "Cheap shot." He raised a clenched fist, chanting, "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunge from the heavens and reap destruction!"

An enormous sized bolt of lightning crashed into Wendy, illuminating the stadium in a bright white light. If she screamed, the sound was covered by the sound of lightning striking.

Natsu peeked down at them with one eye when the light dimmed. The Sky Dragon Slayer was lying face down on the sand, wisps of smoke curling into the air. Laxus was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"What an amazing destructive force!" came from Lola. "And to think he'd use it on his own guild mate."

Mato cleared his throat. "The winner is Lax—" he cut off at the sound of shuffling behind him.

Wendy had raised herself on a trembling arm, and was climbing unsteadily to her feet. "Wait. Don't count me out yet." She swayed, exhausted, as she stepped forward.

"And that, everyone, is how you tell a Fairy Tail wizard apart. They're the ones stubbornly standing up when they should stay down."

Up in the viewing area, the rest of the guild grinned and cheered, not caring that they looked a little maniacal. They were proud of their toughness, of refusing to give up when the odds were against them. This attitude had seen them through several seemingly impossible and unwinnable situations.

"I'm surprised," said Laxus, sounding genuine. "I didn't think you'd be awake after that attack, never mind standing."

"Normally, I wouldn't be. Due to the length of your chant, I had enough time to cast Ile Armor and Deus Corona to increase my defense and elemental resistance," Wendy explained. "Luckily for me, they have the shortest incantations."

The female Dragon Slayer drew in a long breath, visibly relaxing as the healing effect worked her over. It didn't do much for the third degree burns where Laxus's lightning covered fists made contact, though they became more shiny than raw, but the abrasions and cuts were smoothed over with new skin, the bruising vanished, and as a result, Wendy stood straighter, more than ready to continue.

Wendy bent her knees slightly, settling into a wide stance. "Secret Dragon Slayer Art: Shattering Light Sky Drill!"

She spread her arms wide at shoulder height, causing a fast moving wind barrier to rise and surround them. Keeping them in a straight line, Wendy swung her left arm in front of her before sweeping them in a counter-clockwise manner so that her right arm reached out in front of her, pointing slightly down and to her left side.

The wall of wind contracted, sending Laxus flying upwards into the air and subsequently crashing back to the ground. The male Dragon Slayer hit flat on his back and bounced. Silence filled the stadium.

"Even the cute ones are capable of such destruction," bemoaned the former Magic Council member.

Mato hovered nervously, uncertain as to call the match or not. Laxus made the decision for him by slamming a lightning covered fist into the round as he rose to one knee.

He gathered his element around his right fist, building it up until the crackle of lightning was deafening. Then he cocked his arm back and rapidly extended it forward. At the end of his punch, Laxus's yellow magic circle appeared, and an oversized fist composed entirely of lightning shot forward.

Wendy, having spent all her magical power and energy, could only stand there and take the full force of the electricity slamming into her.

There was a moment of complete stillness when the electricity dissipated, then Wendy fell backwards, boneless.

"That was so cooooooooool!" yelled Jason. His exclamation broke the silence and the crowd erupted into a den of screaming and cheering. Laxus hefted his fallen guild mate in a fireman's lift and headed for the guild's assigned healing rooms.

"Fairy Tail's B team has won themselves another ten points, kabo. That puts their total at twenty-eight." Mato cleared his throat. "And for our final match: Kurohebi from Raven Tail and Hibiki Lates of Blue Pegasus." Natsu thought the shrieks from the women should be bottle and marketed as a weapon, because he was pretty sure they broke his eardrums.

Yajima frowned solemnly. "This last battle was impressive. It's going to be a tough act to follow."

"I agree one hundred percent, Yajima," his fellow commentator said, wiping his brow with his wig. "I only hope they are up to the challenge."

Hibiki posed, crossing his arms before him so his hands framed his face. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a fighter." Kurohebi stared at him with a bland expression. "Still, for Master Ichiya's sake, I will give this battle my all."

The blond trimen pulled up his Data Screen, nimble fingers flying across the keys as he entered data. "A Mimic Magic User, eh?" he mused to himself. "This will be harder than I thought."

"For those that don't know, Mimic Magic allows the wizard to, as the name suggests, mimic another's magic and use it as if it was his own," Lola explained.

"Unfortunately," Yajima added, "that's all we know about this style of magic."

"What about you, Master?" Erza asked. "Do you know anything about Mimic Magic?"

Makarov shook his head in the negative. He turned around and posed the question to the ghostly form of Fairy Tail's First Master.

"The magic that boy wields is rare," she intoned. "I could not say how he mimics other types of magic nor how many he can mimic at once."

Kurohebi swayed, resembling the snake he was named for, before darting forward and slamming the heel of his palm into his opponent's sternum. Hibiki staggered back, managing to throw up a shield made from his archive screens as Kurohebi followed through with a strong kick.

The Raven Tail wizard then chose to retreat a distance, head tilted in curiosity as he considered Hibiki. "Oh, Yajima, do you think Kurohebi is copying his opponent's magic?"

The elderly wizard was quick to deny the idea. "No offense to the young man, but his Archive Magic is ill-suited for battle. It would serve Kurohebi no purpose to Mimic it for this fight. Also, since Hibiki knows what his magic is, he loses the surprise factor that most wizards would be faced with."

"Force Bind!" Hibiki shouted, throwing forward a hand, then fisting it and pulling it back. Strands of binary code erupted from the sand, snaking and sliding around Kurohebi until he was all trussed up.

The lines of numbers pulled taut until their victim was unable to move. A pointed tongue slipped between thin lips, and then Kurohebi burst into thousands of grains of sand.

Hibiki stared unthinkingly at the discolored grains of sand. He settled his weight back on one foot, raising a hand so he'd be quicker to defend himself.

The sand rose and swarmed, moving as fast as Kurohebi could. Too fast for Hibiki to react. The sand encased him from head to toe, trapping him in a coffin. Once his opponent was trapped, Kurohebi reformed himself from the sand.

"Sand Rebellion," he hissed.

Max Alors frowned. "That's one of my spells. How does he know it?"

The sand encasing Hibiki exploded violently, the force concussive enough to render him unconscious. Severely singed and still smoking, he was carried off the arena's field to receive medical treatment. Mato announced Kurohebi the victor and then pointed with a gloved hand to the lacrima screen currently showing the teams' standings.

Sabertooth: 33 pts  
Fairy Tail B: 28 pts  
Raven Tail: 28 pts  
Mermaid Heel: 17 pts  
Lamia Scale: 13 pts  
Fairy Tail A: 12 pts  
Quatro Cerberus: 9 pts  
Blue Pegasus: 8 pts

Fairy Tail exited Dormus Flau in high spirits. The A team had had a run of bad luck, scoring a single point, but there was still plenty of time to make up for lost points. They indulged in a party to celebrate B team's second place ranking and Laxus's and Wendy's amazing performance. The poor girl was blushing and stammering from all the praise that was being showered upon her.

"I wasn't all that good, honestly. Laxus-san was a truly tough opponent. He was simply kind enough not to take me out from the start."

On a secluded balcony, Natsu gazed unseeing at the stars, tuning out the sounds of the ongoing celebration. The revelation that there was an unknown player comparable to Zeref made him uneasy. He couldn't stand in the midst of his guild mates and pretend that everything was fine.

What was the hooded figure's goal? Why come to the Grand Magic Games, release a burst of magic, and disappear into obscurity for a year? Just what was he hoping to achieve?

His head snapped left when he felt the cloaked wizard's magic nearby. Natsu didn't even spare a thought to let Makarov of Erza know where he was going. The latter would scold him something fierce when he returned. He leapt over the railing and tore off as soon as he scented the right direction.

The pinkette cornered the mysterious wizard on a bridge. "Who are you and what do you want?"

A slender hand rose, sliding back the hood. Natsu gasped at the familiar face. "You . . ."


End file.
